The website also reported that the 25-year-old applied for a California driver’s licence in Van Nuys following yesterday’s hearing.

Mr Trope told the website there was also "a claim by Mr Federline’s attorney that she had not complied with a previous order the court had made - before I came on board (as lawyer) - about having a random drug and alcohol test."

He said there was "no evidence" that she failed a test, but said the court viewed a failure to take one as the same as not passing one.

The couple’s children will now remain with Federline, 29, until a further court order is issued.

The next hearing will be held tomorrow (Wednesday).

Last month, the same judge said Britney engaged in "habitual, frequent and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol" and ordered her to undergo random drug and alcohol testing twice a week as part of her custody dispute.


Britney ’lost custody of children’ - Oct 2 2007
Britney Spears has lost custody of her children, according to US reports.

Showbiz website Access Hollywood reported that Los Angeles court documents showed Kevin Federline would be granted custody of the couple’s two children, Sean Preston, aged two, and one-year-old Jayden James, on October 3.

Federline would retain custody "until further notice of the Court", the website said.

At a hearing behind closed doors in the Los Angeles Superior Court, Judge Scott Gordon ordered the pop star to turn over custody of her two young sons to ex-husband Federline later this week.

Last month, Judge Gordon said Spears engaged in "habitual, frequent and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol" and ordered her to undergo random drug and alcohol testing twice a week as part of her custody dispute with Federline.

Spears was previously ordered to meet weekly with a "parenting coach" who was to observe and report back to the court about her parenting skills.

Both Spears and Federline must complete the court’s "Parenting Without Conflict" class.

The singer married Federline, known as rapper K-Fed, in October 2004, but filed for divorce last November, which became official on July 30.

The two had joint custody of their children, but, citing the 25-year-old’s erratic behaviour including late nights out with the children, K-Fed is fighting for a 70-30 split in child-rearing duties and for more money.

Last month, Spears’ lawyer, Laura Wasser, left the case and the same day, ahe was dropped by her management company, The Firm, just a month after she hired them for the run-up to the release of her new album on November 13.


Britney and K-Fed’s custody battle goes on - Sept 25 2007
Lawyers for Britney Spears and Kevin Federline have been back in a US court in an ongoing custody dispute involving the pair’s children.

K-Fed’s lawyer, Mark Kaplan, said the unscheduled court session was called to "refine certain areas" of a judge’s previous order. He would not elaborate.

Britney’s attorney, Sorrell Trope, confirmed that the hearing in Los Angeles involved issues related to the custody case but declined to comment further.

The troubled pop princess, 25, and her aspiring rapper ex, 29, are the parents of Sean Preston, two, and one-year-old Jayden James.

The court hearing came days after city prosecutors charged Britney with misdemeanour counts of hit-and-run and driving without a valid licence, claiming she smashed her car into another in a car park in August.