Man made thousands of number plates for criminals

Daniel Day was jailed for three years and four months

A man who made thousands of number plates to sell to criminals to use on cars involved in crimes ranging from attempted murder to burglaries has been jailed.

Daniel Day, 32, ran the operation from a bedroom at his house in Coronation Road, Tipton, where he had equipment to make cloned plates which he charged £30 a set for, police said.

His number plates were used on vehicles involved in more than 140 crimes, including an armed robbery at a Dudley Post Office, a shooting in Wolverhampton and car key burglaries.

Day admitted perverting the course of justice and possessing criminal property and was jailed for three years and four months at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Monday.

His "crucial role in the criminal underworld" came to light during an investigation into a gang using stolen cars to commit vehicle crime, West Midlands Police said.

The gang ordered 94 sets of cloned plates from Day in a year, the force added.

Police established "how Day's 'customers' would steal cars, then get him to make number plates that matched the make and model" to disguise the cars' true identities.

Detectives found one set of plates was requested, produced and then attached to a cloned car within the space of 18 minutes.

This number plate maker was found at Day's house

Examination of his phone revealed 420 sets of number plates were requested during an eight-week period.

Police believe he supplied 7,000 in that time.

Day used a laptop previously owned by a legitimate number plate making business that closed down.

Day ran the operation from a bedroom at his house

Det Con Kelly Whyte said Day's offences were "organised crime on an industrial scale".

"Day had built a reputation as someone who could supply criminals with number plates to disguise their identities and frustrate police, and he could do it incredibly quickly," she said.

Det Con Whyte added the operation "was run like a commercial enterprise" and police estimate Day made more than £200,000.