Amy Winehouse's parents open exhibition to mark her 30th birthday

The singer struggled to beat her addition to drugs and alcohol but her parents say a charity set up in her name has helped them. The charity work of the foundation set up in memory of Amy Winehouse has helped the family cope with her death, her father Mitch Winehouse says.

He joined the singer's mother Janis at the opening of a new exhibition of paintings and photographs dedicated to Amy, called "For You I Was A Flame", at the Proud Galleries in Camden, north London.

The Back To Black singer, who fought a public battle with drink and drugs, was found dead aged 27 at her home in the capital in July 23 2011.

The family set up the Amy Winehouse Foundation to help young people with problems including addiction.

Mitch said: "I feel very emotional today seeing all these wonderful pictures of Amy but really it is no different to any other day at the foundation.

"We're surrounded by this stuff and I'm glad we've got the foundation because I don't know what we'd do otherwise.

"It's helped us a great deal, helping other people has helped us selfishly a great deal and without it I think we would be a lot worse than we are."

He said he thought his daughter would be "very pleased" with the exhibition, adding: "If she wasn't she would find a way of letting us know. There would be a smoking crater where I am and a thunderbolt."

Mirror Online

RIP Amy Winehouse, She would have been 30 on the 14th of September