A MAN told today of his disbelief at being fined for blowing his nose while his van was stopped in London.

Michael Mancini wiped his nose with a handkerchief while stuck in traffic in October 2009.

But when the traffic cleared, he was pulled over by police who told him he had not been in control of his vehicle.

Mr Mancini, from Ayrshire in Scotland, was handed a $US97 fine and three points on his driving license.

"I was stopped in traffic and had the handbrake on and thought to myself, 'I?ve just got time to blow my nose,'" he said.

"Then police pulled me over and I was booked. I genuinely thought they were joking."

Mr Mancini refused to pay the penalty.

His solicitor wrote to prosecutors earlier in January explaining that Mr Mancini was in charge of the vehicle because his handbrake was on, therefore the offense did not occur.

But prosecutors replied the next day warning that if the fine wasn't paid the case would be taken to court.

Mr Mancini said, "I intend on taking this all the way to court. I still don't believe it actually happened".

Read more on this story at Sky News.