How to beat the louts, by the Litter Twitter Queen And that would have been that, except that she wrote about it briefly on Twitter. Her note struck a nerve, and attracted more than 100 replies. Penny Smith, the television presenter, wrote: "I aspire to be like Alice Arnold." Bafta-winning comedian Rebecca Front wrote: "It's official; Alice IS the Big Society." Balding called her the "Litter Twitter Queen." The next day she arrived at work at the BBC to find more than 20 requests for an interview, from radio and television shows and newspapers. She found herself listening to Vanessa Feltz on Radio 2 asking listeners if they had ever "done an Alice Arnold." She was taken aback. "There has been more media reaction to my 'litter crusade" than Clare got for the Boat Race and the Grand National combined," she said. Balding is the one the reporters usually want to talk to. We are used to a bit of media attention in our household - it's just not normally me at the centre of it. Frankly, the dog is probably more famous than I am. I am a voice on the radio, that is all. No one knows what I look like. I can go to work in my jeans and jumper with a bit of toothpaste down the front and no one is any the wiser. Arnold turned most of the requests down, but did write a piece in The Guardian on Saturday explaining why. First, I am a Radio 4 newsreader. It's generally best if I stick to reading the news rather than making it. "Second, I really didn't think what I had done was unusual or special, and certainly not 'heroic."" Friends and strangers have sent her many messages of support. "Nearly everyone has said they would love to do what I did, but would be too frightened," she said. Or they have tried, and had abuse hurled at them and never done it again. Some have told "horrific" stories of being threatened with violence for standing up to litter louts. "This is what is genuinely scary - the underlying rage in some individuals, those who will fly off the handle at the slightest thing, who live with their emotions so close to the surface that it takes little to evoke fury," said Arnold. Her lack of fear could also be linked to serving as a magistrate in Tottenham, north London, for 10 years. I was one of the chairs of the youth court and saw my fair share of violent offenders. The court is a pretty safe environment. There were security guards ready to leap to our defence if someone got skittish. Being a magistrate demystified crime for her. I heard about some pretty horrific cases, but I also looked into the eyes of those who had perpetrated the crimes. I heard them speak, and saw them up close, and realised they were just human beings, not monsters in balaclavas. She doesn't believe the litter louts she took on were being malicious. They were lazy and selfish. Likewise, I did not throw the bottle back in the car to damage them. The only thing I wanted to engender was embarrassment. I believe that, when this couple are older and have a bigger investment in society, they will probably remember what happened and do exactly the same to someone else. Such people are immature and have no regard for the consequences of their actions, Arnold said. What is missing, I suppose, is the greater sense of a civilised, respectful and considerate society. At the same time, the vast majority of people are not like that. They are calm, socially responsible and willing to help others in a time of need. She would confront litter bugs again. I won't go looking for it but, if I see a blatant disregard for the law and it's easy to do something about it, then I will. But as a news reader, Arnold knows the world will move on. Next week, all will go back to normal.