Spears driving with little son in her lap

Pop star Britney Spears, reacting to a furor over photos showing her driving a car with her infant son in her lap, insists she's a good mother and that the incident was the result of "frightful encounter with the paparazzi."

Photo: Spears driving with little son in her lap

Spears driving with little son in her lap

Pictures published in the New York Post and elsewhere on Tuesday showed Spears at the wheel of her sport utility vehicle, holding her 5-month-old baby, Sean, on her lap. A man identified as her bodyguard is shown next to her in the front passenger seat.

According to the Post, Spears drove for at least two miles along the Pacific Coast Highway in the oceanfront area of Malibu on Monday.

A source close to Spears, 24, told Reuters that the incident occurred after the singer had driven to a Starbucks shop with her son strapped properly into his car seat in the back of her SUV.

She moved the baby to her lap after stopping at the coffee shop to let her bodyguard go inside, then became unnerved as photographers swarmed around the vehicle as she waited for him to return, the source said. When the bodyguard got back in the car, Spears quickly drove off with her son still in her lap.

"I had a horrifying, frightful encounter with the paparazzi while I was with my baby," Spears said in a statement issued through her publicist. She said Monday's episode reminded her of an incident last summer in which she was "trapped" in her car by a throng of photographers.

"I instinctively took measures to get my baby and me out of harm's way, but the paparazzi continued to stalk us, and took photos of us which were sold to the media," she said. "I love my child and would do anything to protect him."

Under California law, young automobile passengers are required to be secured in a child-safety seat or booster seat until they are at least 6 years old or weight at least 60 pounds.

The photos of Spears and her baby drew widespread media attention, even becoming a subject of discussion on the popular morning television show "Live with Regis and Kelly," reports the AP.

I.L.