While the credit crunch is hurting sales of new cars, there is one part of the industry that’s booming - Private Number Plates.

Once the preserve of Arabian oil sheiks and city rollers all sorts are now bidding for the ultimate vanity accessory.

£27k plate

The big boys go for top dollars, Arabian billionaire Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Khouri dropped £7.25 on UAE license plate number 1. And one of our own spent nearly half a million on the "f1" plate.

Recently in an auction of 1,500 Welsh-themed plates last month, a businessman spent £27,200 on WEL 5H or Welsh

£££s for the treasury

While private companies such as Personally Yours, rake in millions from individual number plates - it's the treasury that’s rubbing their hands.

In 1997 the amount of money raised by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency was £36 million, a huge difference to the £87 million raised by the DVLA last year by selling such number plates as 51 NGH (Singh) which was sold for an amazing £245,000.

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