The photographer who was blamed for Madonna's riding accident said he was not responsible for her fall.

The singer was taken to hospital with cuts and bruises after she was thrown from a horse which her spokeswoman said was taken by surprise by the snapper who was hiding in bushes.

But photographer Thomas Hinton said he was the only person taking the star's picture - and insists he left before Madonna fell.

Speaking to website TMZ, he said he returned to the farm in Bridgehampton, New York, which belongs to Madonna's friend Steven Klein, after receiving a tip-off that an ambulance had been called there after a 50-year-old woman had fallen from a horse.

He said he only got back there once the medics had arrived and added: "If I had startled the horse, I would have gotten pictures!"

The singer, who was released from the hospital on Saturday night, previously broke three ribs, a hand and her collar bone in a riding accident in 2005.