Whitney Houston has reportedly checked herself into rehab in a bid to kick her addiction to crack cocaine.

The singer - who has a well-publicised history of drug problems - is said to have entered the facility without telling husband Bobby Brown.

Whitney's sister-in-law Tina Brown is quoted in Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper as saying: "At first he thought she was just off on another drug binge.

"It took a few days to find out from Whitney's family that they had talked her into rehab. All Bobby told me is that she is in treatment, in a secluded place."

The news comes after Tina claimed the former diva was hooked on crack cocaine and living in squalor.

She said Whitney - whose stunning looks have apparently been ravaged by her habit - holes up at seedy crack dens for weeks at a time, indulging in her habit.

Shocking photographs taken by Tina showed the star's bathroom littered with drug paraphernalia, including a crack-smoking pipe and cocaine-covered spoons.

Tina told America's National Enquirer magazine: "The truth needs to come out. Whitney won't stay off the drugs. It's every single day. It's so ugly. Everyone is so scared she is going to overdose."

It won't be the first time Whitney has attended a drug treatment centre - she checked into rehab in 2004 and again in 2005.