Pop star Cheryl Tweedy punched a female toilet attendant in the face in a row over a handful of lollipops and called her a ''f black bitch'', a court heard today.

Girls Aloud singer Tweedy, 20, screamed racist abuse before punching Sophie Amogbokpa, causing her severe swelling and bruising that lasted for three months, the court was told.

The ''intoxicated'' singer allegedly attacked the 39-year-old part-time law student during a night out with fellow band member Nicola Roberts at The Drink nightclub in Guildford, Surrey, where Miss Amogbokpa worked, on January 11.

Kingston Crown Court heard the row began when Tweedy, who had been drinking wine and champagne, took sweets and lollies from a display in the ladies lavatory without leaving the customary tip.

Miss Amogbokpa said the singer charged at her and shouted ''you f black bitch'', before punching her, knocking her glasses off and leaving her left eye closed up.

Tweedy then had to be restrained by security staff as she struggled further, continuing to scream abuse.

Miss Amogbokpa told the court: ''When I asked her (Tweedy) for the money, she said 'my father owns this place, I'm going to deal with you, I'm not going to give you any money'.

''She was very aggressive and she acted violently towards me - she grabbed those things.''

She added: ''She was screaming and talking. She said 'you f black bitch' just over and over. The other girl Nicola was trying to restrain her. She was holding her and trying to calm her down.

''I was looking at her and the way she was behaving. No girl had ever behaved that violently in the toilet before.''

Miss Amogbokpa, who was treated in hospital, told the court she was in pain for three to four weeks after the attack and could not hand her coursework in because she could not see properly.

Prosecutor Patricia Lees said Tweedy, of Heaton, Newcastle, was part of chart-topping band Girls Aloud, created from TV show Pop Stars: The Rivals.

She told the jury that ''this should not affect you one way or the other'' in determining what the proper verdicts were in the case.

But she added: ''Having said that, the prosecution allege that part of the reason this offence occurred is no doubt because the defendant had allowed her recent success to go to her head that night, causing her to behave this way to a woman working as a lavatory attendant.''

The court heard that the word ''black'' was not mentioned in the first statement Miss Amogbokpa gave to police in the moments after the row. Richard Matthews, defending, referred to the statement in court and pointed to numerous mentions of ''you f bitch'', with no racist connotations.

Under cross-examination, Miss Amogbokpa could not explain why the word was missing but was adamant she had mentioned it to police. However, the court was told that she had the statement read back to her and had signed each page.

''The reason it is missed out is because it did not happen,'' Mr Matthews suggested.

''It did happen,'' insisted Miss Amogbokpa.

The court heard just six hours after leaving hospital, Miss Amogbokpa met a Sunday Mirror journalist.

Mr Matthews showed Miss Amogbokpa a photocopy of the story which appeared in the newspaper and repeated the headline in which she alleged that Tweedy had called her a ''f black bitch''.

Miss Amogbokpa said she had seen the story and at that stage she was not aware her statement to police did not contain reference to the racist remark.

She was only alerted to this several days later when the journalist telephoned her and told her Tweedy had been saying that there was no racist abuse in her statement.

''So I said that cannot be true because it happened and if my memory serves me right, I do remember having said so (to the police),'' said Miss Amogbokpa. ''Why it is not there I do not know.''

Tweedy appeared in court wearing a cream jacket and black pinstripe trousers, and with her hair in a ponytail.

She denies racially aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.