Pop singer Britney Spears was taken from her Los Angeles home by ambulance early Thursday morning and reportedly placed under a mental health watch at a hospital.

Security guards stand outside the ambulance entrance at the UCLA Medical Center, where pop singer Britney Spears was reportedly placed on a mental health watch early Thursday.
(Dan Steinberg/Associated Press)

An Associated Press report, which quotes an unnamed Los Angeles police officer, said the 26-year-old was being taken to "get help."

The Los Angeles Times reported Spears was taken to the UCLA Medical Center and placed on a mental health watch. Her ambulance was escorted by about a dozen police motorcycles, two cruisers and two police helicopters, said the report.

Unconfirmed reports said her mother and manager were with her when she was taken from her home.

Spears has been locked in a lengthy custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline over their two young sons, Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1.

She was taken to hospital on a stretcher earlier this month from her home following a custody dispute with Federline. She was released after a day in hospital, while a judge stripped her of custody of her sons and handed it to Federline.

The singer spent much of 2007 in and out of alcohol and drug rehab. She has behaved erratically, shaved her head and was seen partying at all hours while trying to regain custody of her sons.

With files from the Associated Press