George Michael feels 'fantastic' after serving half of his prison term

Pop star George Michael says that he wants to "start again" after being released from prison.

The 47-year-old singer said it was "fantastic" to be free after serving half of his eight-week sentence for crashing his Range Rover while high on cannabis. The former Wham! star, whose real name is Georgios Panayiotou, said he wanted to stop running away from the press now that he had been released from Highpoint Prison in Suffolk, Times LIVE says.

He said it was "fantastic" to be free, that he wanted to "go out", and added: "It's a beautiful day.

"I just want to say thank you for everybody who has supported me in there, it's quite inspirational."

As he walked back through the gates of his home, Michael joked: "By the way, I've just thought of a really good idea for a song. It's going to be nothing to do with prison.", The Press Association reports.