Troubled Britney Spears spat in the face of her ex-husband's lawyer and BIT his bodyguard in the wild fight to stop them taking her children.
The violent episode ended with her being carted off to a secure mental hospital - but it was reported last night that she had already been released and smuggled out. Now close friends have revealed exclusively to the Sunday Mirror how Britney:
Became "sick with worry" over bruises on the legs of her one-year-old son Jayden.
Panicked herself into believing that Jayden and his brother Sean, two, had been the victims of abuse - although there is no evidence of mistreatment
Screamed that her ex-husband Kevin Federline, 29, risked having to tell their children that he "killed their mother".
Demanded to see Federline face-to-face, shrieking: "I know he still loves me."
The revelations - the first accurate version of events to emerge since tormented Britney, 26, was taken into hospital under US mental health laws on Friday - came as a court banned her from any more contact with the boys.
A close friend told how Britney had "lost it completely" when Kevin's bodyguard, Ronnie, tried to scoop up the children to take them back to their father.
"She flew at him. She lashed out at him with both fists and caught him on his face and head," said the friend. "She was screaming at him to take his hands off her children. Then she lunged at him and bit his arm. She was like a banshee. All hell broke loose. Kevin's lawyer Mark Kaplan moved in to help Ronnie and tried to take hold of Britney's flailing hand. She craned her neck and head towards him and spat straight in his face.
"Ronnie somehow managed to get in between Britney and the boys and keep them apart. The boys were just stood watching everything. It was horrific."
Britney had to be strapped to a stretcher as she was taken from her Beverly Hills home by paramedics at the end of a threehour stand-off with armed police.
Earlier yesterday she was on suicide watch in a secure psychiatric ward. Insiders said she had created havoc - demanding to leave, screaming at staff and pulling out her intravenous drip.
Family and close friends fear she is suffering from bi-polar disorder and it had been expected that she might be forced to stay in hospital for up to 14 days.
"Britney's family have been convinced she is bi-polar for a few years, but she is in denial, said another pal. "It's one theory her doctors are now looking closely at."
The incident at her house came while her children were there for a supervised visit.
Britney's friend revealed: "When the kids arrived, she says Jayden's legs were covered in bruises. He's a toddler and learning to walk so it's not that surprising - but Britney was terrified he was being abused.
"After a few hours, Ronnie the bodyguard arrived to pick the kids up and take them back to Kevin, but she went berserk and refused to hand them over. No one knew what to do. As the day wore on, she got more and more stressed about handing the kids back.
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"Because her own lawyers had dumped her the day before, it began to hit home that she might lose custody of the boys. Ronnie arrived and a court monitor who was there to supervise the visit tried to do the hand-over. That's when Britney started to panic. She kept the children behind her and told no one to touch them.
"She demanded to see Kevin and told Ronnie to get him to the house there and then. That was never going to happen, but she kept on about how she needed to talk to him. She told Ronnie: 'I know he still loves me'. Ronnie called Kevin and he sent his lawyer Mark Kaplan over. When he got there, the court monitor let him in. Britney told Kaplan she wanted to, 'sort this out with Kevin face-to-face'.
"Kaplan said 'no' and she started raising her voice and pacing up and down. She told him: 'Tell him to stop pushing me. Tell him to stop making me feel like I'm not part of my own family. He doesn't want to have to tell his children he killed their mother'.
"Kaplan told her to hand the kids over or he'd get a warrant - and that would count against her in the custody battle over her kids. That's when she lost it completely."
After Britney's violent outburst, six police cars, an ambulance and a fire engine raced to the mansion - and a police helicopter hovered overhead as officers negotiated with Britney to be allowed in. When that failed, fire crews smashed down the door.
"They put her on a stretcher but all the time she was screaming that she wanted to see Kevin and that he still loved her," said the friend.
"They strapped her down and wheeled her into the ambulance. They took her to Cedars Sinai Hospital and admitted her to the psychiatric ward.
"She was adamant that she hadn't taken anything illegal for a month, but she did tell the doctors she was taking the prescription drugs vicodin, valium, sleeping pills, diet pills and the tranquilliser nyquil - she said she drinks a bottle a day. Britney told doctors to contact her friend Sam Lufti and pretty soon he turned up and took control. Alli, her aide, was called in New York and told to get back. Britney also told Sam to call her mum Lynne to say she was NOT welcome at the hospital.
"The two have fallen out and she was the last person Brit wanted showing up. But her dad and sister Jamie Lynne are at the hospital with her.
"It's tragic. Brit says she wants Kevin back, but he won't even meet her. She has terrible mental health problems stemming from her prescription drug habit. Alli has called on all her friends to beg her to stay in there. Everyone's desperate. But Kevin is livid. He has had enough.
He thinks Britney is insane. He doesn't think rehab is what she needs, he thinks she needs to be in a mental institution.
"Kevin did go to the hospital to show some support, but it was mainly to get Jayden who was still in there with Britney. She'd insisted he was checked because of the bruises she'd seen. As it turned out, both the kids were released into Kevin's custody. He wants to protect them from a woman he believes has serious mental problems." Britney and Federline split in November 2006 after a turbulent 33-month marriage.
Following Jayden's birth in September 2006, Britney complained that Federline preferred to party all night than be a dad. She piled on the pounds through bingeing on junk food and began consuming cocaine, crystal meth and booze.
Federline had been awarded custody of the boys following her descent into drink and drug-induced oblivion - but until Friday Britney was still allowed visiting rights.
Last night, it appeared that her meltdown may have been brought on by loneliness. "It's so sad," said a friend. "Even her own dad spent Christmas with Kevin and his new girlfriend. He wanted to see his grandkids and figured it was the best place for him to be.
"He doesn't have a problem with Kevin. In fact, he respects him for the kind of dad he is. They had a great time. It was all centred around the kids and real family stuff. Britney had them for a couple of hours in the morning on Christmas Day and then they were dropped back off at Kevin's by the bodyguard.
"God knows what's going to happen to Brit now. All we can hope is that she's alive for next Christmas..."
