POP star Britney Spears, who is fighting for custody of her two sons, saw her legal troubles mount yesterday after she was charged with hit-and-run driving and driving without a licence. If convicted, the singer could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 (£495) fine for each count, said Nick Velasquez, of the Los Angeles attorney’s office.

The accident, which occurred at slow speed in a car park in Studio City in August, was filmed by paparazzi and later posted on a website. After inspecting the damage to her Mercedes convertible, Spears, 25, was shown walking away.

Three days later Kim Robard-Rifkin, the owner of the other car and a nurse, complained to police. It was found Spears did not have a licence. Robard-Rifkin, 59, only discovered it was Spears who had hit her car when she saw the video. She said she was “sort of amused and sort of shocked” when she learnt who had caused the damage, adding that she had expected to hear from the star. “I simply want my car fixed, the same as I would fix somebody’s car if I had done that,” she said.

The new case may be a blow to Spears’s efforts to keep custody of her children following her divorce from Kevin Federline last year.

Last week she was ordered by Judge Scott Gordon, who will decide on custody, to undergo twice weekly random testing after ruling her “a frequent and continuous” user of alcohol and drugs.

Watch a video of Britney's crash

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