A man caught behind the wheel of a car with cloned number plates in Slough had not held a valid driving licence for an astonishing 44 years, Thames Valley Police have revealed.
The individual, who is from Slough, was stopped by officers from the force’s roads policing unit based in Taplow.
He was driving a Citroën when officers pulled him over and discovered the car was fitted with cloned registration plates—a tactic frequently used to avoid detection or responsibility for offences such as speeding, congestion charges or parking fines.
Following the stop, police seized the vehicle and reported the man to court. The offence is the latest in a growing list of incidents involving long-term unlicensed drivers, with previous BBC investigations highlighting similar cases in which motorists had gone 50, 52, and even 70 years without ever holding a legal licence.
A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said: “Driving with cloned plates or without a licence is illegal and undermines road safety. These actions can lead to serious consequences such as fines, vehicle seizures and prosecutions. We urge everyone to follow the law and drive responsibly.”
The practice of car cloning involves criminals copying the registration plates from another vehicle—usually of the same make, model and colour—in order to mask the identity of a stolen or untaxed vehicle. The legal vehicle’s owner is then often left to deal with fines or legal notices they had no part in causing.
A recent BBC investigation uncovered a sharp rise in cloning cases across the UK, with thousands of wrongly issued penalty charge notices subsequently cancelled after it was proven the vehicle involved had been cloned.
The Slough incident shines a spotlight on both car cloning and the enforcement challenges surrounding unlicensed drivers, some of whom manage to stay undetected for decades.
While it is illegal to drive without a licence, experts say many individuals go unnoticed due to the lack of routine traffic stops or because they have avoided committing other visible offences.
Road safety campaigners have called for more regular licence checks and the use of advanced number plate recognition technology to catch drivers flouting the law.
“It’s a serious issue, not just because of the deception, but because someone who hasn’t held a licence in decades is unlikely to meet current driving standards or understand today’s road rules,” said Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation.
In the Slough case, the outcome now lies with the courts, where the man could face a range of penalties including hefty fines, a driving ban, and possibly a custodial sentence, depending on the outcome of the hearing.
The incident also reinforces warnings by police and transport authorities that cloned vehicles can pose significant risks to road safety, as they are often used by individuals attempting to avoid detection or bypass legal obligations such as insurance, MOT requirements or taxation.
Police have urged members of the public to report any suspicious vehicles or cases of suspected cloning.
