A MAN who was fined for throwing a cigarette butt from his car window said he would fight his punishment “all the way” because the butt was biodegradable and, therefore, not litter.

Vincent Tyrell, of Marcham, said he was “absolutely gobsmacked” when found guilty of littering by Didcot magistrates.

The 42-year-old defendant was given a £75 on-the-spot fine for littering after a Vale of White Horse District Council officer saw him flick his roll-up cigarette butt from the window of his VW Golf car in Ock Street in January.

Tyrell, of Haines Court, refused to pay the fine, claiming his roll-up was not litter as it had no filter and was biodegradable.

As he refused to accept responsibility, the Vale council said it had no alternative but to prosecute.

Last week, the magistrates agreed that cigarette ends, even without a filter, when not disposed of properly, should be considered as litter, and fined him £85, with £260 costs.

Tyrell, who said he had become a non-smoker because of the stress of the case, pleaded not guilty.

He said: “I think it is a total joke, unbelievable. I intend to fight this all the way and will not be paying the fine.”

The managing director of the AMP facilities management company on Radley Road industrial estate, Abingdon, he said: “I hate littering. I am extremely environmentally friendly and if I thought a roll-up cigarette end was litter, I would put it in the bin. But it is not. It is biodegradable.

“I can’t smoke at my home as I live in housing association accommodation and I can’t smoke at work. The only place I could smoke was in my car and I can’t do that any more, so I have quit.”

He was caught when the council employee reported the incident to environment enforcement officers, who confirmed Tyrell was the registered owner of the vehicle.

In court, Tyrell maintained his cigarette was not litter.

But Vale council solicitor Suzanne Green argued the law said smoking-related litter, such as cigarette ends, should be regarded as litter — and there was no distinguishing between cigarette ends that had a filter and those that did not.

A spokesman for Keep Britain Tidy said they did not know how long it would take for a cigarette with no filter to biodegrade, but said it was still classed as litter because of the chemicals and toxins it would continue to release into the environment.

l Britain Harris, of Coopers Lane, Abingdon, pleaded guilty to the same offence of littering last week after being caught leaving his cigarette end in Market Place, Abingdon, in December last year.

A council environment warden issued him with a £75 on-the-spot fine, but he refused to pay it.

Magistrates fined him £65 and ordered him to pay £130 costs in his absence.