1 DLE: Idle by name but not by nature!

Dean Lawrence Easterby, a long-standing Registration Numbers Club member from Longton, near Preston has been interested in number plates from the age of around 15. He bought his first number plate, when he was just 18 years old. Dean said: "I had just passed my driving test and purchased a Mk. 4 Ford Cortina with the Irish number plate MIA 8508. The car soon became known as Mia. In 1981 my mother and I bought a Rolls Royce - a 1969 Silver Shadow. A friend had 5 YOO and on seeing another YOO plate it appealed to me."

Later that year, Dean bought a 1963 Austin Cambridge, which had the number plate 4 G00. Dean liked the number because of its similarity to his YOO plate. Then came the purchase of the ultimate plate for Dean. "I had always wanted a number with my initials and in 1984 when I was 21 years old I was lucky enough to see DLE 1 advertised. I decided then to start looking for the reverse plate 1 DLE. This took 15 years! It is an excellent plate that not only has my initials, but also spells 'idle' - which incidentally, I am not! - I can't imagine ever parting with any of these numbers - in fact I would sell absolutely everything before I'd sell my plates!"