A smoker who threw a cigarette butt on the ground in a street and was given a fixed penalty notice of £75 has seen the cost of the smoke spiral to nearly £400.

Kim Thomas, 55, was spotted by a council enforcement officer dropping the butt in Lowfield Street, Dartford, and walking away.

Thomas dropped the butt on June 22 last year and at the time was given a fixed penalty notice of £75 but failed to pay.

Her case was listed at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court on February 8, but Thomas of Lowfield Street, Dartford, failed to show up for the hearing.

The court heard Thomas had some correspondence with Dartford council over the matter in the following months and had promised to pay the fine in December, but the council didn’t receive any payment.

Magistrates were also told Thomas had emailed the court to say she wanted to plead guilty to the offence, but had not shown up for the hearing.

The bench found the offence proved in her absence, fined her £100 and ordered she pay court costs of £250 and a victim surcharge of £40.

Thomas was given 28 days to pay.