Retired teacher who has never smoked fined for dropping cigarette in Nottingham - despite being 440 miles away in Normandy
Ray Weatherburn, 76, was eating breakfast in Normandy, France, when he was accused by Nottingham city council of littering from his silver Vauxhall Corsa.
By ROBERT FOLKER, NEWS REPORTER
Published: 11:05 GMT, 1 January 2026 | Updated: 11:06 GMT, 1 January 2026
A retired teacher has been fined for throwing away a cigarette in Nottingham despite being 440 miles away in Normandy.
Ray Weatherburn, 76, was eating breakfast in Normandy, France, when he was accused by Nottingham city council of littering from his silver Vauxhall Corsa on August 13.
However, after receiving a second letter from the council about the cigarette butt, he provided passport stamps and petrol receipts as evidence that he was not in Nottingham at the time of the incident.
'I've never smoked in my life. They issued me with a £100 fixed penalty notice,' Mr Weatherburn told the Telegraph.
'They had the correct registration number, but my car was immobilised up in Northumberland at the time.'
Mr Weatherburn, a former 800m running champion, said his car was at his home in Berwick-upon-Tweed, when the alleged offence happened in Nottingham.
The 76-year-old, who lives in Berwick-upon-Tweed but has a second home in Wollaton, Nottingham, was issued with the fine on September 9.
He was then sent a second letter two weeks later and told that he could be taken to court over the unpaid fine.
Ray Weatherburn, 76, was eating breakfast in Normandy, France, when he was accused by Nottingham city council of littering from his silver Vauxhall Corsa on August 13
But, the fine was addressed to a man's name he did not recognise, and he then rang the council to address the issue.
A third letter was also issued inviting him to take part in the Immediate Justice scheme, a community work programme for offenders, as an alternative to going to court.
Mr Weatherburn later received an apology from the council for the 'inconvenience' caused to him and blamed the third letter on a technical error.
He said: 'It worried me about ID fraud as there was someone else linked to my address and car.'
Mr Weatherburn claims he was told by the police that he may have received the fines because car plates have been cloned.
He added: 'I still don't know if someone's driving around with my number plate cloned. It's all very, very confusing and I can't get any explanation out of them. It causes sleepless nights and anxieties.'
Nottingham city council was approached for comment.