Justin Timberlake's lawyer has said he is "looking forward to vigorously defending" the US singer after he was arrested and charged with drink-driving.

Timberlake, 43, had reportedly been having dinner with friends on Long Island, New York, before his arrest in the early hours of Tuesday.

The Grammy winner was held overnight and formally charged with a DWI (driving while intoxicated) misdemeanour at Sag Harbor Village Justice Court on Tuesday morning before being released.

Lawyer Edward Burke Jr said: "I look forward to vigorously defending Mr Timberlake on these allegations.

"I will have a lot to say at the appropriate time but am currently awaiting full discovery from the District Attorney's office."

The 43-year-old pop star was driving a BMW when he was pulled over in Sag Harbor, a wealthy village in the Hamptons, at 12.37am local time after failing to maintain his lane of travel and pause at a stop sign, the local police department said.

An officer who stopped him described his eyes as being "bloodshot and glassy" and said a "strong odour of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath", according to a court document.

"He was unable to divide attention, he had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot and he performed poorly on all standardised field sobriety tests," the court papers added.

Timberlake, whose mugshot was released after his arrest, reportedly told officers he had one martini and was following some friends home, and refused to take a breath test.

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His next court date is scheduled for 26 July, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said.

It comes after local media reported the police officer who pulled him over was so young he failed to recognise the pop star.

Page Six, the New York Post's celebrity and entertainment site, cited a source who told them the officer "didn't recognise him or his name".

According to their reporting, a second source told them that during the arrest, Timberlake said "under his breath - 'This is going to ruin the tour'."

Timberlake, who rose to fame with boyband NSYNC before finding huge success as a solo artist with hits including Like I Love You, Cry Me A River, SexyBack and Mirrors, is scheduled to appear in Chicago for two dates this week before further shows across the US, Canada and Europe between June and December.

Timberlake, who used to date fellow pop star Britney Spears, has also starred in films, including The Social Network and Friends with Benefits.