Bucks garages and council team up to combat number plate theft

With reports of vehicle cloning on the rise, garages in Bucks have teamed up with the county-wide safety initiative to raise awareness of the issue and help protect drivers. Kwik Fit and Tyre Pros centres across the county have partnered with Buckinghamshire Council to fit anti-tamper kits on vehicle number plates.

Car cloning is when a criminal steals or copies the number plate of a legally registered car and uses it to hide the true identity of a similar car, either because it is stolen or they want to mask the ownership. The owner of the cloned car can then receive parking tickets, congestion charges or fines that are nothing to do with them.

By fitting anti-tamper screws to number plates, it makes it harder for thieves to steal them. This will help the vehicle’s genuine owner avoid the huge inconvenience cloning can cause, as well as the cost of having to replace their plates.

The anti-tamper kits will be fitted free of charge from Monday, February 10, while stocks last. The partners in the awareness campaign will also be giving advice to drivers on different types of vehicle crime and how to avoid becoming a victim.

Drivers can get the kits fitted by visiting the Kwik Fit centres in Amersham, Aylesbury, High Wycombe, Iver and Wycombe Marsh and the Tyre Pros centres in Aylesbury and Chesham.

Each centre will have 200 kits, with drivers also receiving either an air fresher or ice scraper, each with a crime prevention advice.

Jon McColl, centre manager of Kwik Fit in Aylesbury, said: “Car cloning is a growing issue and it can be massively inconvenient and stressful for car owners if they are a victim of it. These kits can’t guarantee that a car won’t be cloned, but anything which makes it more difficult for criminals is worth doing.

"We’re very happy that Buckinghamshire Council is supporting drivers with this initiative and we are glad we can play our part in making it easy for drivers to get the anti-tamper kits fitted.”

Arif Hussain, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities said: “This initiative forms part of a wider campaign Buckinghamshire Council’s Community Safety Team is running, following a noticeable increase in vehicle-related crime in the county.

“We are pleased to be working in partnership with Kwik Fit and Tyre Pros on this project and would encourage drivers to take advantage of this free offer while available, to hopefully protect their number plate from being targeted for cloning.”

The anti-tamper kits will be available at the following Kwik Fit and Tyre Pros garages in Buckinghamshire.

Kwik Fit:

· Shredding Green Garage, Langley Park Road, Iver, SL0 0JG

· Wynne Jones Business Centre, Walton Road, Aylesbury, HP21 7RL

· 97 London Road, High Wycombe, HP11 1BU

· 511 London Road, Wycombe Marsh, High Wycombe, HP11 1EP

· 2a - 2b St Georges Industrial Estate, White Lion Road, Amersham, HP7 9JQ

Tyre Pros:

· Park Street, Aylesbury, HP20 1DX

· Amersham Road, Chesham, HP5 1NG