A British tabloid claims Britney Spears was acting in defense of her children, who she believed were being abused while in the care of their father, when she held the two toddlers hostage for three hours late Thursday.

A Sunday Mirror source says:

“When the kids arrived, she says Jayden’s legs were covered in bruises. He’s a toddler and learning to walk so it’s not that surprising - but Britney was terrified he was being abused. “After a few hours Ronnie the bodyguard arrived to take the kids back to Kevin, but she went berserk and refused to hand them over. No one knew what to do and she got more and more stressed about handing the kids back… “That’s when Britney started to panic. She kept the children behind her and told no one to touch them. She demanded to see Kevin and told Ronnie to get him to the house there and then. That was never going to happen…”