DE11 BOY Fanatic Gets His Dream Number Plate!

Chris Dawson snapped up the private registration plate at the DVLA's auction held at Hertfordshire's Down Hall Hotel in Bishop Stortford on 28th, 29th and 30th September.

Seen as a real-life Del Boy for his rise from market trader to multi-millionaire, Mr Dawson couldn't let this once in a lifetime opportunity pass him by.

Placing his bid through a telephone bidding service, Mr Dawson managed to win the plate for a staggering £35,330.

Ever the shrewd businessman, he insisted that it was an investment, as “everything is for sale”.

The Only Fools and Horses themed number plate entered the auction as one of 500 registrations going under the hammer on day one of the auction.

Mr Dawson developed his business empire, which centres around The Range household stores and will add his new number plate to his Bentley.

“I just couldn’t resist buying it," exlaimed Mr Dawson.

“In the words of Derek Trotter, ‘lovely jubbly’.

"Those who know me know I’m always up for a laugh and, well, my reputation as the original Del Boy is well known.

"Hey, it’s the perfect investment.”

Damian Lawson, the DVLA's personalised registrations' marketing manager, added:

“DE11 BOY stems from our hugely successful 11-series of registrations released for sale last year and there’s been a huge amount of interest since we announced it was being auctioned here at Down Hall.”

The star of the show was set to be the highly anticipated 36 O number plate, with similar plates far exceeding their reserve price at previous auctions.

With a reserve set at £10,000, onlookers expected 36 O to sell for a big price.

But the winning bidder managed to get a bargain, paying just £13,700.