A 48-year-old woman is willing to go to jail rather than pay a fine for dropping a cigarette outside her home.
She's an "eco-criminal", apparently, and eco-criminals will not be tolerated.
I have just given the following quote to a national newspaper:
"We don't condone littering but the penalty does seem excessive and disproportionate to the crime.
"A verbal warning should have been sufficient but smokers are easy targets these days.
"They can't smoke in pubs and clubs, they're told not to smoke in cars or in the home if children are present, but as soon as they step outside they're criminalised for inadvertently dropping a cigarette.
"A little bit of common sense wouldn't go amiss."
Update: £465 fine for dropping cigarette on doorstep (Daily Express)