Pop diva Christina Aguilera's bodyguard was in a scuffle with a photographer as the star was escorted from a seafront hotel last night.

The incident happened as the American singer tried to sneak out of a side entrance of the Hilton Brighton Metropole Hotel.

Aguilera, in the UK promoting her new single Beautiful, had performed a couple of tracks at a Capital Radio event.

As she left the hotel, there were camera flashes and a skirmish broke out between a photographer and one of Aguilera's bodyguards.

Surrounded by her entourage, 22-year-old Christina was quickly bundled into a waiting 4x4 car and hotel staff tried to calm down the quarrel.

The photographer was left with a bleeding hand as he fell against a plant pot and his camera ended up on the floor.

Aguilera was driven away, closely followed by the rest of her entourage in another carr.

Another photographer who witnessed the incident said: "The thing was, both her security and the hotel's security knew we were there all the time. It was totally uncalled for."

A spokeswoman for the singer said: "The photographer got a bit over-zealous and the security guard asked him not to take pictures. It's as simple as that. These things happen."

Christina Aguilera had spent about two hours at the hotel before leaving at 10pm.

A hotel member of staff said: "All we were trying to do was get everyone off the premises."

The police were called by the hotel security manager.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "We received a report of an incident between a member of the paparazzi and a celebrity's security guard.

"The member of the paparazzi ended up in a plant pot. No further action has been taken."

The two photographers were from a London agency.

Aguilera's new single is the follow-up to her UK number one Dirrty which has been nominated for a Grammy.

The singer recently performed at the American Music Awards 2003.