That's one 'L' of a relief

Nov 17 2004 By Helen Cook, The Journal

Number is up for plate

A football fan is selling his beloved UN51TED number plate to raise money to help him recuperate after a knee operation.

Robin Whincup, 48, describes the registration plate as his "pride and joy", but yesterday said he had no choice but to sell it.

The father-of-five, who runs his own company making bouncy castles, needs a knee replacement, after he picked up an infection from a mosquito bite on a business trip to Singapore.

Now Robin, from Harrogate, is hoping a Newcastle United fan will buy the number plate.

He said: "I'm a Leeds fan, but I think if you are a united fan of whatever united, for you, the registration will apply to your team.

"We've had such a lot of fun with it. It always gets stares if we're out when there's a match on. Everyone thinks we must be one of the players.

"I decided to sell it after seeing a plate saying AR53NAL go for £53,000 at auction. I'm having the operation through the NHS, paying for private care after that and then there's the cost of time off work. When you run your own business, you can hardly take a holiday let alone time off for something like this."

Robin's son Mike, a Northumbria University student said: "I hope it does go to someone in Newcastle. I've got a real soft spot for Newcastle."

If you want to buy the plate you can get in touch at sales@galaxy2000.co.uk