New ANPR cameras detect thousands of illegal ghost plates on UK roads

New high-tech traffic cameras trialled on motorways in south-east England have exposed thousands of drivers using illegal "ghost plates" to slip past law enforcement.

The specialised cameras, designed by technology firm MAV Systems, use artificial intelligence to match infrared and colour images, easily identifying plates designed to fool the system. The scale of the problem is startling. At a single test site near the Dartford Crossing, the cameras logged an average of more than 1,000 ghost plates every day over several months.

At another test site near the M25, daily detections have doubled to nearly 2,000 over a two-year trial, while a third site near the Eurotunnel in Folkestone is flagging upwards of 400 illegal plates a day. Some motoring analysts estimate that as many as one in 15 vehicles on UK roads could now be using these plates.

What are ghost plates?

To the human eye, ghost plates look completely ordinary. They display the vehicle's correct registration digits. However, they are manufactured using highly reflective plastics or covered in special coatings that bounce back the infrared light emitted by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras. This leaves the camera blinded, unable to read the letters and numbers.

Drivers use them to dodge speeding fines, toll fees, and clean air zone charges like London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone (Ulez). But police warn they are also heavily exploited by organised criminals and car thieves to move undetected.

A regulatory loophole

The ease with which these plates can be bought has turned the UK into a hotspot for the technology. There are more than 34,000 registered plate suppliers with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). Registering requires little more than filling out a form and paying a small fee, with virtually no background checks.

An undercover investigation by the BBC at an Essex market revealed that two out of three plate businesses approached were openly selling ghost plates designed to dodge Ulez cameras. One seller provided a plate in eight minutes for #40 cash, without asking for identification or proof of vehicle ownership—both of which are legal requirements.

While buying a ghost plate is not illegal, driving a car fitted with one is. Yet enforcement is thin. Only six DVLA officers are tasked with auditing all tens of thousands of registered UK suppliers. Just two suppliers have been prosecuted and removed from the official register since 2020.

The human cost

The ability to drive invisibly has devastating real-world consequences. Sharon Gannon’s son, Jason Wallis, was killed in a high-speed motorcycle crash in Buckinghamshire in 2023. His brother-in-law, Lewis Baker, survived and was jailed for 15 months; he admitted in court to using a device to hide his plate from ANPR cameras. Gannon told the BBC that being invisible to cameras emboldens people to take deadly risks.

In another case in 2025, Graham Slinn, 81, was killed on a pedestrian crossing by a speeding car using cloned plates. The driver, Cain Byrne, was jailed for more than 11 years.

What happens next?

Currently, the standard UK penalty for driving with an illegal plate is a #100 fixed penalty notice, though court fines can reach #1,000. In France, by comparison, using manipulated plates to escape detection can trigger fines of up to –30,000 and prison sentences.

UK police leaders are pushing for tighter licensing on who can distribute number plates. Chief Constable Tim Forber, the national policing lead on ANPR, noted that cloned and manipulated plates are linked to serious crime on a weekly basis.

Justin Madders, the minister responsible for vehicle registration, said the government is now launching a national coordination centre to share police intelligence and trial new detection technologies. Madders did not rule out systemic changes to how plates are regulated, saying, "I don't think we can rule anything in or out at this stage."