BRITAIN: Girls Aloud star Cheryl Tweedy insisted last night that she was not a racist after she was found guilty of attacking a black nightclub attendant.
The 20-year-old said she was "stunned and disappointed" after a jury at Kingston Crown Court found her guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
But the singer said she was pleased that she had been cleared of another charge of racially aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Judge Richard Haworth sentenced Tweedy to 120 hours of community service and ordered her to pay £500 (€717) compensation to Sophie Amogbokpa and £3,000 (€4,300) court costs.
The judge said it was an "unpleasant piece of drunken violence" and said Tweedy, of Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, had shown "no remorse whatsoever".
After the sentencing, the pop star stood outside court with her mother and tour manager while her solicitor Mr Paul Harris read out a statement on her behalf.
In it she said she was "thankful that the jury had accepted that this incident has nothing to do with race."
Tweedy punched part-time law student Ms Amogbokpa (39), in a row over a handful of lollipops in the lavatory of The Drink Nightclub in Guildford, Surrey on January 11th. Ms Amogbokpa was left with a black eye and bruising.