A West Bromwich woman today claimed she was fined £75 for littering after a tissue was blown into the road.

Kerry-Ann Hickin and husband Neil have refused to pay after saying the piece of toilet paper was accidentally taken by the wind into a busy Oldbury road as she ran to try and catch a bus.

Mrs Hickin said a warden issued a fine of £75, cut to £50 if paid within a certain period, at about 2.45pm yesterday.

She says the tissue flew across busy Birchfield Lane and it was too dangerous to try and retrieve. But Sandwell Council today stressed it would have not issued the fine if it had been an accident.

The fine follows the ‘duckgate’ controversy, when mother Vanessa Kelly from Oldbury was fined for littering for feeding ducks with her 17-month-old son Harry.

Sandwell Councillor Derek Rowley said: “We can’t go into the details of the case, because it could end up in court. However, our wardens will not issue a Fixed Penalty Notice if something is dropped by accident.”