North London jazz songstress Amy Winehouse has taken one of the top prizes at the prestigious Brit Awards.

The 23-year-old, who has rarely been out of the spotlight over the past six months with her much-publicised drinking binges, beat a string of other hopefuls to win Best British Female.

Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley announced to the Earls Court crowd that Winehouse had won. A semi-shocked Winehouse got on stage and thanked the crowd and her fans, as well as her family.

“I’m just glad my mum and dad are here,” she said.

Earlier, Winehouse had performed her hit single Rehab. Her chart-topping album Back In Black was nominated for Best British Album but lost out to the Arctic Monkeys.