Paparazzo quits over Britney ordeal

The trials and tribulations of Britney Spears, who was yesterday sectioned in Los Angeles as a 'suicide risk' after going without sleep for the last five days, have been enough to convince one paparazzi photographer that enough is enough. Nick Stern, a snapper with the UK-based celebrity picture agency Splash, has resigned in protest at the relentless 'hounding' of the troubled pop star.

The last straw for Stern, 43, was watching the media circus that ensued when the singer was taken to hospital yesterday for the second time in a month. According to the LA Times, the convoy of photographers following the ambulance to the UCLA Medical Center was the length of a football field and covered all the lanes of the road. Stern talked of how it had become acceptable among the paparazzi “to drive at 80mph down the wrong side of the street into oncoming traffic. It's so agressive, there are fights and crashes and slashed tyres."

Spears, whose mental health has been deteriorating over the last year and who recently lost visitation rights for her two children, was taken to hospital after her mother became increasing concerned at her behaviour. A Los Angeles judge ordered that she remain there for three days under a 5150 order that views her as a 'risk to herself and others', and she could be committed for a further fortnight if she is deemed not to have recovered.

For Stern, the intervention may not be enough. "Directly or indirectly," he said, "Britney is going to come to some horrific end. As she continues to deteriorate psychologically, I just can't see a positive way out."