Van Driver Fined £225 For ‘Snotting’ Outside His Window

A pensioner says he has been fined £225 by the council for shaking snot off his hand while driving. That’s snot fair, is it?

Les O’Donnell, 70, from Coalville, Leicestershire, actually received a fine for throwing a cigarette out of the window in September 2025, but says the officer who ‘saw’ him do it is mistaken, because he was actually ‘snotting’.

Which is a grim thing to do, but it’s not littering.

The pensioner claims he had a cold, sneezed into his hand, found he had no tissue, and so ‘shook’ his hand out the window to get rid of the snot.

Les, who works part-time as a delivery driver, appealed the fine, but says it was rejected. He’s now prepared to go to court over the matter.

Les says: ‘I’d been to the doctors that day as I was manufacturing a lot of mucus, and on the way back, I sneezed, and a huge lump of phlegm landed on my hand,’ he explained.

‘I didn’t have a hanky with me, so I shook my hand out of the window to get rid of the mucus.’

‘A few days later, I got a letter from the council saying an environmental protection officer had seen me throwing a cigarette out of my van window, and that I had been given a £225 fine.

‘There was no physical proof or photographic evidence of this alleged offence, only the word of this council officer.’

Les insists the officer mistook his phlegm for a cigarette – a classic error!

He says that even if he was smoking, which he admits he may have been, he has a cigarette extinguishing pouch and a litter bag in his van, and would never throw his cigarette out the window as he ‘hates littering.’

Despite the council not having any photographic evidence of what they accuse Les of doing, they say the statement provided by the environmental officer is sufficient.

Les says: ‘Why is my word not worth as much as his? I’d love to see a picture if there is one, because I genuinely believe that it was me getting rid of phlegm.

‘There are thousands of people in our district council area outside pubs, clubs, hairdressers, bingo halls and retail shops, smoking, but they don’t seem to be penalising these people.’

I guess it’s Les’s word Vs the environmental officer’s word, but if he’s really willing to drag this through the courts, then maybe the council should just let him off with a warning and everyone can get on with their lives.

In fact, how much did the Metro pay Les for this story? Enough to cover the fine, maybe. He may have actually played a blinder here. Go Les Go!

For the man who crashed and died mid-j1zz with his pants down while driving his 1996 Toyota, click HERE.