The family of a 10-year-old girl from the Caribbean island of St. Lucia says British singer Amy Winehouse had planned to adopt her, The Mirror reported.

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Winehouse, who had long battled addictions to drugs and alcohol, died more than a week ago in her London flat. The cause of her death at age 27 has not been determined.

Dannika Augustine's grandmother, bar manager Marjorie Lambert, told The Mirror Winehouse had hired lawyers to handle the adoption of the child, who is living in ­poverty with her single mother.

Winehouse met Dannika while on vacation two years ago and returned to visit her several times. Lambert said the girl's family supported the notion of Winehouse adopting her.

"Amy loved Dannika with all her heart. I don't know why Amy took to Dannika above all the other children on the island, but from the moment they met they were ­inseparable. They would spend all day playing, horse-riding and walking up and down the beach hand-in-hand," Lambert told the newspaper.

"Amy used to beg me: 'I want to adopt Dannika. I want to take her to England.' She was prepared to move to St. Lucia to be her full-time mum. Amy wanted to have a child so bad. If she had not died, there is no doubt she would be here in St. Lucia ­completing the adoption process. There is no way she would have done what she did to herself if Dannika was with her."

The girl told The Mirror: "Amy was already my mother. I would call her mum and she would call me her ­daughter. She took care of me and we had fun together. I loved her and she loved me. She was the most amazing person and I was looking forward to living with her here [St. Lucia] or in London. I cannot believe she is gone. This is the worst thing that ever happened to me."