Drivers will be able to snap-up unique personalised number plates - including one combination made famous by Disney - when thousands go on sale next month.

The DVLA has 2,500 unusual registrations up for grabs at the beginning of December, which could be ideal timing for those looking for that extra special Christmas present.

Every year millions of personalised registrations are sold in the UK, with the DVLA overseeing some of those sales in several of its own bidding events each year.

The auctions, either live or timed, happen both virtually and in person as part of efforts to give all bidders the chance to get their hands on their dream registration.

Next month's online event is a timed auction, lasting seven days, beginning on Wednesday, December 1 and finishing on Tuesday, December 7.

The starting price for many plates is just £70 however some personalised combinations - many containing the number 1 - have starting bids of more than £2,000.

Among them is 1 LYP, 1 OOC and and 1 OWK which are all asking for bids in excess of £2,400.

Alongside plates carrying that all important number one - it is cherished plates spelling out a name or place that are also expected to attract huge interest from bidders.

In next month's auction beach lovers might be tempted by BE11 ACH while male hairdressers could be persuaded into offering money for BA22 BER.

There is also Holly - HO71 LLY - and Buddy - BU11 DDY - in name and number form should Father Christmas be among the interested bidders.

While DEV IL - a combination also made famous by its appearance on the Panther De Ville Saloon car driven by the Disney villain Cruella de Vil - is also up for sale.

It has been given a starting price of £500 and is lot number 555 in the catalogue.

Next month's timed online auction runs on the principle of 'maximum bids', in which those taking part submit the maximum they want to pay - monetary amounts that are invisable to others taking part.

Bidding starts at the starting price for each registration and if there is competitive bidding on a particular lot the auction system will automatically increase bids on behalf of bidders in £10 increments.

Once a bidder’s maximum bid has been reached, the system will stop bidding for them with the current leading bid price for each registration displayed on the website at all times.

There are also 'sliding end times' to stop rival bidders outbidding each other with seconds to go. Every lot will have a published end time, shown on the website, but for lots where bidding activity takes place in the last 30 minutes the end time will then slide by a further 30 minutes and continue to do so, to allow all bidders the chance to bid again if they want to.

According to figures released by the DVLA in 2019, and before the pandemic hit, the average price for a registration sold at a timed auction stood at £877 and £3,225 for those sold at its live auctions.

For personalised plates already available via the DVLA website the average price for those sold directly is £342. You can view those currently available here.

To see next month's auction catalogue and for details about joining the bidding click here.

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