Amy Winehouse's aunt plea

May 17, 2008, 6:00 GMT

Amy Winehouse arriving for the MTV Movie Awards in Los Angeles on 03 June 2007. Winehouse was arrested and taken to an East London Police Station, Britain, 07 May 2007. Producer Mark Ronson says he and Amy Winehouse have stopped recording the theme tune to the latest James Bond movie because the singer is not ready to work. EPA/JIM RUYMEN

Amy Winehouse's aunt wants the singer locked up to save her from drugs.

The family member, who described her self only as Sue, called for her incarceration during a phone call to British radio station 5Live during a debate about drugs, which mentioned the 24-year-old star - who this week was told she would not face any further police action over a video of her smoking what appeared to be crack cocaine.

Sue said: "Sometimes in our heart of hearts - and this is going to sound ever so bad - we wish she would be incarcerated and maybe that would help get her off the drugs."

Amy's aunt also urged people to leave the 'Back to Black' singer alone, saying: "Please let her finish her rehabilitation - let her try to get off the stuff and then we'll have the Amy we all want. We're just trying to carry on our lives, if possible."

Sue said she wouldn't normally call in, but was angry her niece was being used as an example to teenagers.

She added to host Phil Williams: "You keep bring up that she's a teenage icon and what sort of example is she setting. She's setting no example. She didn't want to be an example - all she wants to be is a singer and a songwriter.

"There are thousands of families going through the same tragic situation as us all over England and they're allowed to get on it quietly - and this is all we ask for Amy."

Hitting out at the paparazzi who follow Amy, Sue said: "Give it a break - stop printing all those nasty photos.

"Amy has people knocking on her door at two o'clock, three o'clock in the morning and some of the photos of Amy at her worst is when she's had no sleep and gone downstairs to say, 'Leave me alone, shut up, I want to go to sleep'."

(C) BANG Media International