Cloned plates could act as a “gateway drug”
Thousands of illegal number plates have been detected by a new camera system being tested on motorways in south-east England.
Known as ‘ghost plates’, the registrations are designed to make vehicle details difficult for automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras to read.
ANPR cameras are used across the UK to enforce speed limits and low-emission zones, while also helping authorities track vehicles linked to criminal activity.
A new camera system has detected more than 1,000 ghost plates a day at one test site near the Dartford Crossing.
At another site near the M25, detections have reportedly increased from around 1,000 a day to almost 2,000.
The issue has raised concerns over road safety and the ability of authorities to identify vehicles using illegal registrations.
Police and DVLA officers carried out a roadside operation on the edge of Birmingham and West Bromwich to identify illegal number plates.
During the operation, officers stopped a van and used specialist infrared goggles to examine its registration.
The goggles revealed that the vehicle was displaying a ghost plate, resulting in the driver receiving a £100 fine.
The driver reportedly said they were unaware that the plate was illegal.
Officers later visited the supplier and found two ghost plates displayed alongside legal registrations.
They also discovered separate ghost letters and numbers stored on a shelf, which police said suggested “some level of intent”.
The supplier received a warning letter, although a prosecution was still being considered.
The issue has also been linked to road deaths involving vehicles using illegal or cloned plates.
Sharon Gannon’s son, Jason Wallis, died in a 2023 crash in Buckinghamshire involving hidden registration plates.
His brother-in-law, Lewis Baker, survived the crash and was later jailed for 15 months for dangerous driving.
Gannon described the impact on her family, saying: “It has broken us all.”
In another case, 81-year-old Graham Slinn was killed on a pedestrian crossing in 2025 after being hit by a car travelling at high speed.
The driver, Cain Byrne, was later jailed for 11 years and six months.
Slinn’s daughter, Nicola Timmis, said cloned plates could act as a “gateway drug” towards more dangerous behaviour.
She said: “It seems like it’s harmless, but then one thing leads to another, leads to another, and before you know it, it’s somebody dead.
“It is not a victimless crime.”
There are more than 34,000 businesses registered with the DVLA to supply number plates in the UK.
Chief Constable Tim Forber, the UK’s policing lead on ANPR, said:
“Not a week goes by where we don’t see an example of someone on cloned plates involved in serious and organised crime.”
Justin Madders, the minister responsible for vehicle registration, said the Government was creating a national centre to tackle illegal number plates.
He added: “I don’t think we can rule anything in or out at this stage.”
The new technology is being tested at several locations as authorities examine ways to identify ghost and cloned plates.
