Late British singer Amy Winehouse "went mad" at her father after he foiled a plot to smuggle cocaine to her when she was in a rehabilitation clinic, according to a new book about the star's life.

Mitch Winehouse is opening up about the soul singer in "Amy, My Daughter," and newly-released extracts from the tome, which is released later this month, highlight his struggle to keep her drug-free.

He recalls hiring bodyguards to protect her from relapsing when she attended a rehab clinic to try to beat her drug demons.

Britain's Daily Star newspaper quotes Mitch as writing, "Amy went mad when she found out we'd intercepted the drug."

The Grammy-winning star died last July as a result of alcohol poisoning after a massive booze binge.