Secureplate, from Hills Numberplates, is a new theft-resistant car plate.

The plates have been developed so they cannot be removed from any vehicle in less than three minutes. And even if a thief does manage to remove one, they are designed to shatter into at least four pieces, stopping them from being used again.

Hills’ managing director, Michael Cordell, explained: "Thieves are stealing plates to clone vehicles, to hide their identity when stealing petrol from forecourts, and to avoid paying speeding fines." He added that demand for the plates was so great that production capacity was at full stretch.