Motorist Gavin O'Hara was so cross when he was given a ticket for not belting up that he threw it out of the window - and was booked for dropping litter.

O'Hara, 28, of Graham Avenue, Portslade, was fined £50 when he appeared at Brighton Magistrates' Court after admitting both offences.

The court heard a police officer on patrol in St James's Street, Brighton, stopped O'Hara one morning in October after spotting him without a seatbelt.

Katharine Travis, prosecuting, said O'Hara told the officer he had only driven from the end of the street and asked: "Haven't you got anything better to do?"

The officer gave him a £30 fixed penalty ticket but O'Hara refused to take it.

When the policeman put the ticket on his windscreen he tore it off and threw it on the street - only to be nabbed again.

After yesterday's hearing, O'Hara said: "The whole thing was absolutely ridiculous."

O'Hara said he was a salesman who drove 50,000 miles a year and knew the importance of wearing a seatbelt.

He added: "I'm a responsible motorist who is on the road all the time and I'm fully aware of the laws. I was literally putting on my seatbelt when the officer told me to pull over by the traffic lights.

"I work as a security consultant and am in constant touch with the police all the time. The whole thing is so embarrassing."

O'Hara was also ordered to pay £35 court costs.