Cab driver’s mischievous number plate almost cost him his licence!
Martin Willis, from Midanbury in Southampton, was given the number plate MW11 LLY as a birthday gift from his wife. His nickname has been Willy for almost his entire life so Willis proudly displayed the plate on his car. Little did he know it might cost him his livelihood.
Most of his customers thought it was cheeky and it made them smile and laugh for more than a year, until one day he had a knock on the door. Eastleigh Borough Council informed the 60-year-old that a complaint had been made as someone had found it offensive.
A spokesperson said that the council’s Enforcement Officer was contacted by a member of the public after they spotted the plate at Southampton Airport and found it to be inappropriate.
The registration number itself is completely legal and was released by the DVLA for cars registered on or after 1st March 2011…we still have several *W11 LLY numbers available for sale at www.carreg.co.uk. However, the main issue here was that Willis had spaced the number plate incorrectly with a space between the M and W instead of between the 1 and L, like so; M W11LLY, and of course, displaying a number plate incorrectly is illegal.
The council informed Willis that the plates could mean that his licence to work wouldn’t be renewed, which of course would mean his career as a private hire driver would cease.
“In the eight years I have been a taxi driver, I have never received a complaint of any kind, but I presume this complaint will now go on my record.”
Emphasising the word ‘Willy’, made his plate stand out more but not everyone saw the funny side. As a self-employed driver for Checkercars, Willis took the advice of the council and corrected the plates promptly. The plate is now displayed correctly on his Ford Mondeo.
More Willy Numbers!
WIL 1111 – XW11 LLY – EW11 LLY
FW11 LLY – HW11 LLY – KW11 LLY
LW11 LLY – NW11 LLY – TW11 LLY
VW11 LLY – YW11 LLY – WIL 1107
WIL 110 – WIL 1
Taxi Registrations!
CA13 BYS – TAX 15 – 1 CAB
CAB 805S – TH15 CAB – BE57 CAB
CAB 555S – YE55 CAB – C48 CAB
HU11 CAB – MY51 CAB – AB16 CAB
More number plates from just £175!
Rachel Picken: Carreg.co.uk