'Number plate cloning was extremely stressful'

A woman from Camberley was hit with speeding fines for a vehicle which was not hers

A Surrey woman says having her number plate cloned was "one of the most extremely stressful experiences I have ever been through" after receiving hundreds of pounds in fines for a car she was not driving.

Sue Whitehead, from Camberley, said she was the victim of someone copying her number plate and speeding around London in a car that was a different model to her own.

Mrs Whitehead, 64, is now calling for more to be done to stop the practice as her MP, Dr Al Pinkerton, launches a bill to crack down on the "growing problem".

The bill comes after a BBC investigation found sellers on Amazon and eBay are supplying vehicle registration plates without carrying out proper legal checks.

Mrs Whitehead said: "I don't want that to happen to anyone else.

"I feel really angry about it. We were struggling to prove our innocence.

"It feels like your identity is being taken away and it took me a long time to prove that it wasn't me involved in any criminal actions."

'Endless appeals'

In May, Mrs Whitehead said she received the first speeding fine under the number plate of her silver A Class Mercedes.

Upon inspection, the car carrying her number plates which received the fine was in fact a C Class Mercedes Hatchback, she said.

Eventually Mrs Whitehead paid £250 in total fines, with more dropped after the intervention of Pinkerton, the MP for Surrey Heath. She said her initial fines were also later repaid.

Pinkerton said he was introducing his Private Member's Bill, the Vehicle Registration Marks (Misuse and Offences) Bill, to try and crack down on the practice.

He said: "The current system lets criminals exploit a loophole, leaving innocent residents facing endless appeals and financial hardship.

"Today, I presented my Vehicle Registration Marks (Misuse and Offences) Bill to Parliament to close that legislative gap and ensure councils and the police have the powers they need to crack down on vehicle registration cloning."