A video showing a man confronting a Maidstone litter warden after he was fined for putting a cigarette in a bin has gone viral.

The footage shows Joshua Douglas, 25, challenging the council worker in High Street after being handed the £80 fine yesterday morning.

Mr Douglas says he was issued the fine outside his workplace, Pops' Cafe, after stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray. It turned out the bin was 'out of service' because it is blocked-off by scaffolding, preventing council workers from emptying it.

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Posting on Facebook, Mr Douglas said: "When I got fined this morning the top ashtray was open and still I got an £80 fine for putting a butt in a council bin that had no sign saying out of use and the ashtray was not covered.

"It was outside my work, he [the warden] followed me in and wouldn't leave. Got the police and either had to give my details or be detained.

"When I got fined the top was completely open with butts and rubbish inside. No sign saying not in use. I cannot comprehend how that is littering in any way or why they would actually take it this far."

VIDEO: Joshua Douglas shared the footage on social media.

In the video, understood to have been filmed several hours later on the same day and seen 50,000 times, Mr Douglas says: "Maidstone council has blocked off the bin next to the bus stops so all the busmen that come to smoke their fags no longer have a bin to put it in."

Mr Douglas then confronts the council officer, asking why he is 'guarding' the bin.

During the one-minute exchange, the warden says he is just doing his job and that he is not guarding the bin. He says if the video is being taken for social media he will call the police.

During the clip the official repeatedly asks Mr Douglas to step away.

The ashtray has since been covered up and signs have been put up warning people not to use it.

A Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) spokesman said it would not comment on individual cases, adding: "We can confirm that a litter bin in the High Street near TSB bank was sealed earlier this week due to scaffolding obstructing its use and MBC operatives being unable to empty it.

"Signs have been added to the bin directing people to place their litter in any of the nearby bins, of which there are several. Littering in the borough is taken seriously by our Enforcement Officers and all incidents are recorded by staff bodycam equipment."

The confrontation comes just over a month after two workmen filmed their argument with a litter warden after dropping their cigarette butts in a wheelbarrow in Detling.

Mr Douglas said he will fight the fine in court. He said: "He [the warden] watched me finish my cigarette and then came over. I didn't even leave the stub in the bin, I took it in with me.

"It's pure entrapment."

What's the law?

Littering is a criminal offence under Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Those caught by MBC's enforcement officers face a fine or fixed penalty notice of £80.

This money essentially 'buys off' your liability to be prosecuted. Failing to give your details when challenged by an enforcement officer is also a criminal offence.

Local authorities don't have to have signage up warning against littering. Those who fail to pay up within a fortnight face court and heavy sanctions.

The maximum penalty of littering than can be imposed is £2,500. If you feel you've been fined unfairly, your only option is to challenge it in court.