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Tina Copeland, 52, was walking home from her local Sainsbury's supermarket when she flicked the ash onto the pavement.
She claims she heard "tyres screeching" before two council officials came "sprinting" towards her to slap her with a fine.
Tina, from Coventry, West Midlands refused to pay the £50 fixed penalty notice and is now facing a £304 fine and £200 court costs following a court hearing at Nuneaton Magistrates' Court.
She said: "I heard these tyres screeching behind me and all of a sudden two women got out and started sprinting towards me.
"I didn't know whether to drop me shopping and put my hands in the air or walk towards them.
"I realised they had council uniforms on and they starting asking me if I was aware I had committed a criminal offence.
"My generation just discard the butts on the floor - if I had dumped a three-piece suite then fair enough but it was just a cigarette end."
"They were just so stern and officious.
"The way they spoke to me was horrible - they acted as if I had murdered somebody."
Miss Copeland didn't attend the hearing as she had to look after her autistic son Chez, 17.
She is now considering whether to pay the fine and could be hauled before the courts for a more serious offence if she refuses.
Coventry City Council said it has a 'zero tolerance' policy towards litter and residents are provided with bins to avoid cigarette butts being dropped onto the pavement.
Andrew Walster, who oversees the council's streets policy, said: "It costs us about £2.5m a year to clean the streets in Coventry.
"There are plenty of litter bins within the city."
In July last year, a stroke victim was handed a fine after dropping a cigarette butt she claimed fell from her trembling fingers.
The punishments were introduced in 2007 in a bid to clamp down on smoking-related littering.
Credit: Daily Mirror
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