Osbourne wins damages on news story

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The 59-year-old Black Sabbath frontman was not at London's High Court for the settlement of his action against Express Newspapers over a story in the Daily Star this February.

The damages will be donated to his wife's charity - the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Programme.

Solicitor John Kelly told Mr Justice Eady that the article appeared after the couple, along with two of their children, Jack and Kelly, hosted the awards at Earl's Court in front of 6.1 million TV viewers.

Entitled "Ozzy's Freak Show", it falsely alleged that he had toppled over twice just before the ceremony was about to begin, prompting organisers to hold emergency talks about whether they should withdraw him with his family and send him to hospital.

It also claimed that he had to be ferried around the awards in an electric buggy, and that the singer and his wife sat on thrones when they were not speaking as Ozzy insisted on having a place to sit in case he got too tired.

Mr Kelly said that the newspaper now accepted that the allegations were "completely untrue".

Mr Kelly said that Mr Osbourne was a highly successful touring artist who had just completed a sell out world tour.

The publication of false allegations that he was in such a poor state of health that he was incapable of hosting an awards ceremony, and that organisers had to consider withdrawing him from the event and put in place special measures to compensate for his ill health, were extremely serious.

The allegations were not put to Mr Osbourne or his representatives before publication - or the newspaper would have been informed of their utter falsity.