A MAGISTRATE found herself in court after refusing to pay a fixed-penalty fine for throwing a cigarette butt out of her car window.

Denise Hall was given a £50 penalty for depositing litter after she was seen dropping the butt as she drove along a busy road.

But when she refused to pay, Hall, who sits as a magistrate in Middlesbrough, was taken to court by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council.

After pleading guilty by letter, she now faces the possibility of action by the Lord Chancellor.

Hall, who lives in east Cleveland, pleaded guilty to her colleagues at Hartlepool Magistrates' Court yesterday. She admitted the offence of illegally depositing litter and was fined £50 plus £50 court costs.

Magistrates were told that Hall was travelling along the A174 road, near Redcar, just before 2pm last December 11, when she was seen to throw a cigarette butt out of the car by a warden services manager and a community safety warden from Redcar and Cleveland council.

Hall was issued with the fixed-penalty fine for littering, but having failed to pay, she was taken to court.

Sian Jones, the justices' clerk for Middlesbrough, said last night that the matter would now be referred to the South Cleveland Advisory Committee.

Ms Jones said: "When a magistrate commits a criminal offence, it is automatically referred to the local advisory committee.

"The committee will consider the case and, if it decides to take action, a recommendation will be made to the Lord Chancellor.

"It is unlikely that the committee will decide to take no action. For this sort of offence, it is most likely that a warning will be issued, reminding the magistrate of the importance of her role and setting a good example."

Councillor Dave McLuckie, Redcar and Cleveland council's cabinet member for community protection, said: "It is irrelevant who the individual is. If they break the law, then we are entitled to pursue them.

"After initially accepting the fixed-penalty notice, this individual subsequently refused to pay, forcing us to take them to court where she pleaded guilty by letter.

"This has resulted in unwanted publicity for the individual concerned, but if she had paid the fixed penalty, that would have been the end of the matter.

"We in Redcar and Cleveland see this as the end of the matter.

"But it sends out a warning - if your intention is to destroy our environment, we will prosecute."

Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate, a special advisor to the Home Secretary and former police chief superintendent, said he was in full agreement with the council's decision to prosecute Hall.

He said: "I'm a firm believer in dealing with litter louts, and I have long advocated that the law should be enforced even in small degrees. From little acorns, oak trees grow.

"I get fed up to the back teeth of seeing cigarette ends all over the place. It defaces the environment. For the law to be given some credibility, I've got no qualms in thinking the right decision was taken in this case."

Redcar and Cleveland councillor Ann Higgins said: "With this woman being a magistrate, I suppose she should be setting a good example - and the law is the law."

Hall declined to comment last night.