Wrong number

Ever since the first registration number was issued in the UK way back in 1904, car owners have paid daft sums of money to secure something tasty, to make their car stand out from the crowd.

While an expensive car doesn’t look quite right without a posh plate, when you’re driving a 15-year old Cavalier, spending a couple of hundred quid on a cheap registration to disguise its age seems rather pointless.

However, the most annoying plates have to be the ordinary ones which are manipulated with a stack of screws, weird fonts and odd spacings, to read an owner’s name.

While personalisation of cars is all well and good, anybody who feels the need to mutilate their car’s number in a feeble attempt to stand out from the crowd is clearly desperate to make an impression – and is sure to make one. Just not the kind they’d hoped for, so don’t be tempted – please!

Richard Dredge