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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
National
Phil Norris

Why this number plate caught the sharp eyes of police

Does something look not quite right to you about this partial number plate?

Is that an '8' or a '0'?

Sharp eyed Avon and Somerset police officers noticed something was wrong when they saw it this week.

Read more: Mum shouts at cyclist 'you shouldn't even be in the road' and smashes his phone

Writing on the force's Road Policing Unit's twitter page, they said: "Part of a numberplate that we saw this week... 'There's no such thing as a 50 plate' we thought."

They added that the registration plate meant the digit was indistinguishable from an '8' from any distance and said it was a "blatant" misrepresentation.

And they said it would not have been picked up on ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) cameras.

The motorist was issued a Traffic Offence Report and the DVLA was also informed.

People on social media reacted to the post, one saying: "cannot fathom why motorists have vanity plates to look like their name and draw attention to themselves, and then have windows so heavily tinted they cannot be seen!"

Another said: "I reckon a third of all the vanity plates I see are doctored to look like letters."

It is against the law to rearrange letters or numbers, or alter them so that they’re hard to read.

You could be fined up to £1,000 and your vehicle will fail its MOT test if you drive with incorrectly displayed number plates.

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