A SENIOR councillor was spared an on-the-spot littering fine by an enforcement officer after dropping her cigarette in the street.

A keen-eyed passerby saw Melinda Tilley, leader of the Tory opposition on the Vale of White Horse District Council, drop the butt outside the council offices in Abbey Close, Abingdon.

Anyone spotted littering usually receives £75 fixed penalty notices.

David Stevens, the council's deputy director for environmental health, is on record as condemning cigarette litter.

But as Mrs Tilley retrieved her cigarette butt, she was spared the fine.

Mrs Tilley said: "When I was told about it, I went and retrieved it and put it in the bin.

"They issued me with a warning to say I shouldn't do it again, such a naughty thing, and I said ok'. There isn't much more about it.

"It wasn't murdering all the first borns, but it was considered very serious. It's a stupid story."

The incident happened last month.

Council spokesman Nikki Malin confirmed the offence had been reported to the environmental protection team.

She added: "Our enforcement strategy states that a balance needs to be maintained between education, raising awareness, managing public expectation and enforcement.

"In this instance, the councillor was issued with a warning and told if she was spotted doing it again she would be fined £75. The councillor accepted the warning."

The council has issued 61 fixed penalty notices in the last year for offences including littering and dog fouling, leading to fines totalling £3,100.

Last August, Leanne Horton, of Ock Street, Abingdon, was fined £75 for stubbing out her cigarette on the pavement of the town precinct.

When told of the incident involving Mrs Tilley, Mrs Horton, 29, accused the council of double standards.

She said: "I think it's disgusting. They didn't give me any warning at all.

"I didn't get a chance or anything. It was literally there is your fine, you have to pay.

"You can't say to one person 'you've done that, you get a fine' and to another 'you get a chance, you will be let off this time'. You do the same thing for all."

At the time, council officer Mr Stevens said: "Dropping cigarette butts is just the same as dropping any other kind of litter and is against the law.

"Cigarette litter not only spoils the look of an area, but is time-consuming and expensive to clean up.

"This type of litter is a particular concern to people, so we are acting on these concerns.

"Our environment wardens will continue to issue fixed penalty notices to anyone caught dropping litter, including cigarette butts."

No one has been fined in Oxford since January for dropping a cigarette butt.

City council spokesman Chris Lee said: "We have not fined anyone because it's notoriously difficult to catch someone doing it."