![Registration plate on a red car. Photo by rbrwr on Flickr [licence: cc by-sa 2.0]](https://www.bradleystokejournal.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/red-car-registration-plate.jpg "Registration plate on a red car. Photo by rbrwr on Flickr [licence: cc by-sa 2.0]")
A Journal reader reports that he had both number plates stolen from his vehicle last night (Tuesday 17th January) while it was parked in Juniper Way.
According to the AA, number plate thefts have more than doubled in the last five years and there were at least 40,000 cases last year.
Directgov, the government’s information website, explains that stolen number plates are often switched to other vehicles – by those who don’t want to be found out when they commit such offences as:
- Speeding
- Illegal parking
- Not paying congestion charges
- Driving away from a petrol forecourt without paying (“bilking”)
- Not paying for parking tickets or speeding fines
- ‘Disguising’ a stolen vehicle
The AA advises:
“If the number plates are stolen from your car you should report it straight away – you might start receiving parking fines, speeding fines or worse as number plates are used to disguise the identity of cars used in a wide range of crimes.”
In the Avon and Somerset Police area, 818 number plate thefts were recorded in 2009/2010.
