Chris Brown cops a plea to avoid the Rihanna fans in jail!

Chris Brown has avoided a jail spell after pleading guilty to assaulting ex-girlfriend Rihanna, hours before the former couple was due to meet in court in Los Angeles.

The R&B star has been ordered to serve six months of hard labour in his home state of Virginia and has been told he must stay at least 50 yards away from Rihanna and 10 yards away from her if they attend the same event.

He’ll also serve five years supervised probation for felony assault, and he’ll have to return to court periodically, so his progress can be monitored.

Brown will also have to enrol in a domestic violence counselling program, according to TMZ.com.

The plea deal came just after Brown and Rihanna had arrived at Los Angeles Supreme Court for a preliminary hearing into his attack on the Umbrella singer on the eve of the Grammy Awards in February.

Rihanna was left beaten and bruised following the fight with her ex. Reports suggested the row was over correspondence Brown received from an ex-girlfriend.

The Disturbia singer obviously expected the worst when she arrived to court, where she was due to testify – she wore all black.

A bystander says, “It looked as if she was going to a funeral.”

Reports suggest she only entered the courtroom so her ex-boyfriend’s plea deal could be explained to her.

Brown will return to court on 5 August.

Outside court, Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney, told reporters Brown’s plea deal was “similar to those in other cases where defendants are charged with this type of felony, and its a first-time offence.”