One person has taken matters into their own hands over cigarette disposal in Sittingbourne.

Last week, a terracotta pot filled with sand mysteriously appeared outside the town’s railway station.

It follows months of commuters taking to social media sites to blast Swale council officers for fining people for dropping butts when there are no bins provided.

Andi Cornelius, of Burley Road, Sittingbourne, criticised the enforcement workers, who can hand-out £80 on-the-spot penalties, saying she contacted the local authority numerous times to complain.

She said: “The warden is hiding in the doorway waiting to give people tickets.

“I saw one trying to fine a homeless man and he doesn’t even have a house to live in.

“It’s just a money-making scheme, with the council just picking on easy targets.”

Another Facebook user wrote: “How many victims were there? Talk about easy targets!”

But a spokesman for Swale council said it never installed a bin because the land is privately-owned.

He added: “A recent Keep Britain Tidy study suggests that providing a designated outside smoking area with an ashtray can reduce smoking related litter by considerable amounts. This is something that many businesses could provide for their customers in order to keep the area free from litter.

“Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the smoker to make sure they dispose of their cigarettes responsibly. We spend hundreds of thousands of pounds a year cleaning up other people’s mess, and people consistently tell us they want us to take action to stop litter blighting local streets.”