Britney Spears has reportedly been requested, but not ordered, to stop driving with her two sons in the car.

Ex-husband Kevin Federline’s legal team called for the ban after Britney was spotted holding her mobile phone in her hand while running a red light last weekend, with sons Sean and Jayden in the back of the car. She has also been involved in several incidents with paparazzi photographers recently, with two men being hospitalised after she ran over their feet and the third with more serious injuries after being hit by a car while following the star.

Legal teams for both Britney and Kevin attended a closed hearing at the Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday but on leaving the courthouse, neither side could comment on the matter other than Kevin’s lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan confirmed that orders had been made and Britney’s lawyer Anne Kiley saying everything was “fine”.

Inside sources however report that a video of Britney driving through the red light was not actually played to the court but was “a major point of the hearing”. Britney’s legal team insist that the Gimme More star did the right thing because she “was being mobbed by paparazzi at the time. This was not blatant irresponsible driving on her part.”

The source added that the judge conceded to this point hence the request for her to stop driving: it was not an issue of her driving capability but rather one to avoid the boys being endangered by the constant chaos surrounding their famous mum.

The feuding former couple are both expected to appear in court on the 26th November for the next hearing in their ongoing custody battle.