Forget the Eiffel Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge - this is a real feat of engineering.

Amy Winehouse's beehive attained epic proportions yesterday, when she emerged from her house with more than 12 inches of hair piled on her head.

Monstrous proportions: Amy Winehouse's towering hair looks more bearskin than beehive as she rushed from her Camden home today

And instead of the ends being tucked in, they cascaded down - with the whole edifice kept in check only by a floral hairband.

Miss Winehouse's precarious and increasingly unkempt look is created using several bags of synthetic hair extensions.

The 24-year-old singer was heading out ahead of performing in Moscow last night for Chelsea FC tycoon Roman Abramovich.

That will take her mind off waiting for husband Blake Fielder-Civil to be sentenced after he admitted attacking a barman then trying to pay him to drop the charges.

Inspiration: Is Amy Winehouse copying Marge Simpson, or a Royal guard

Miss Winehouse's behaviour has become more erratic since his incarceration - with frequent changes of hairstyle reflecting the turmoil in her personal life.

Unkind observers might wonder if, with no new record in sight, the singer is considering a career in the Grenadier Guards.

If so, she could save the taxpayer the £650 it costs to make a traditional bearskin hat.