Looking sad and lonely, Britney Spears headed to a coffee shop after handing her two sons back to ex-husband Kevin Federline.

The troubled pop star had spent a brief two days with her boys over Christmas.

Britney Spears looked sad and covered up after returning her sons to their father - she headed straight to Starbucks with a friend afterwards [Agencies]

The strain of her acrimonious break-up and custody battle was showing as she left the children and headed to a Starbucks coffee shop with a friend.

Perhaps it was a Christmas jumper, but Britney's choice of horizontal striped cardigan did little for her.

Teamed with a large fedora hat and oversized sunglasses, the pop star for once looked as if she wanted to hide from the cameras.