A motorist was fined £400 for flicking a cigarette end out of their car window while driving on the A10 Ely Road.

Having been seen by a South Cambridgeshire District Council officer, they were given the opportunity to pay a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) rather than attend court for the offence. 

Cllr Natalie Warren-Green, lead cabinet member for environmental services and waste, said: “Cigarette butts are made of plastic and do not biodegrade.

“They can contain a combination of chemicals including formaldehyde, nicotine, arsenic, lead and copper.

“Every cigarette butt tossed to the ground is a tiny toxin that poisons our environment.

“These small acts of negligence accumulate, harming wildlife, polluting waterways, and littering our local communities. Please discard of cigarette butts responsibly.”

Figures from Keep Britain Tidy show cigarette butts make up two thirds of all littered items, with nearly three million cigarette butts thrown as litter in the UK every day.

Latest studies and evidence from UK Government show that smoking related litter costs UK local authorities approximately £40 million per year to deal with.