Winehouse Mystery Illness

AMY WINEHOUSE's father MITCH has been struck down by a mystery illness and is facing an agonising wait to be diagnosed.

He was taken ill last week after taking time out from helping his troubled daughter deal with her own issues and visited a doctor on Thursday to find out the cause of his ill health.

The stress of his daughter's wayward lifestyle has caused him to suffer panic attacks, leading him to collapse at his London home last week, according to U.K. tabloid reports.

Winehouse, who spoke out about his daughter's problems to UK's Sky news at the weekend, tells British newspaper The Sun, "I'm awaiting the results of tests. I'm going away for a few days and we will see what happens after that."

But a friend of the singer's father says, "Mitch isn't well. He has been taking a lot on and has been dedicating himself to trying to improve Amy's health. But his own health has suffered as a result.

"He has been having stress-related panic attacks and collapsed at home last week. The doctor did some tests and told him he needed to take time out or he was seriously risking his own well-being. Amy is devastated and told him to get away and relax.

"She told him not to worry about her - but that is easier said than done."

Mitch has been at his daughter's side following a string of ill health, which he believes stems from her drug abuse. Most recently, the star was hospitalised in June and was diagnosed with traces of deadly lung disease emphysema.