BR15TOL number plate sells for £20,000

A Bristol-based businessman has spent more than £20,000 on the car registration BR15 TOL at a DVLA auction.

The registration was valued at £700 but bidding opened at £7,000 and was quickly sold for £15,500, which with a buyer's premium and VAT shot up to £20,168, the Western Daily Press reports.

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BR15 TOL was one of 1,600 number plates up for auction.

A DVLA spokesman told the BBC: "I don't believe anyone can argue it's as close to the city's name as you're going to get and perfect for any proud Bristolian."

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The most expensive car registration of all time sold at auction is 25 O, which sold for £518,000 in 2014.

Earlier this year, DVLA released a new list of banned number plates including VA61 ANA, UP15 BUM and PR15 SON.

Licence plates, such as JE55 US and BL03 JOB were also banned, while ORG 45M and PEN 15 were allowed.

The 49-page list of "suppressed" car licence plates ranged from the politically or religiously sensitive to the homophobic and just poor taste.

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