Longdon- British soul singer Amy Winehouse appeared in court in London Tuesday on charges that she hit a woman during a hustle over a photograph at a charity ball last year.

Winehouse, 25, denied the charges of assault and replied "I do" when the judge asked her whether she understood her bail terms and the order to appear for trial on July
23.

A female fan, who was not present at Tuesday's preliminary proceedings, has alleged that she was hit by Winehouse after requesting to have a photograph taken with her at a charity ball in London on September 26 last year.

The singer, sporting a floral summer dress and her trademark beehive hairstyle, appeared cheerful and refreshed after her recent two-month break on the Caribbean island of St Lucia.

She dealt in good humour with the hordes of journalists and photographers who had gathered outside Westminster Magistrates Court in central London to see her.

The singer, who is in the process of being divorced from former husband Blake Fielder-Civil, was accompanied by her father, Mitch, who has repeatedly claimed that Fielder-Civil is responsible for his daughter's alcohol-and drug problems.

Winehouse has moved out of her apartment in Camden, north London, where wild parties used to be held, to live near her parents in the quiet suburb of Barnet on the northern outskirts of the capital. (dpa)