Private hire driver loses appeal after Wolverhampton REVOKES licence over illegal ‘ghost plates’
- Perry Richardson
- 1 minute ago
- 3 min read
A private hire driver has lost his court appeal after City of Wolverhampton Council revoked his licence when illegal “ghost plates” were discovered on his vehicle during an inspection.
Black Country Magistrates’ Court dismissed Aqeel Shakeel’s appeal against the licensing authority’s decision, confirming the revocation of his private hire driver licence. The court also ordered Shakeel to pay £1,923 in legal costs to the council.
Shakeel had attended City of Wolverhampton Council’s offices on 20 May 2025 for a routine vehicle inspection involving his Audi A4, which was licensed for private hire work.
During the inspection, licensing officers suspected that the vehicle’s 3D-style number plates had been modified to function as so-called ghost plates. A council inspector used a specialist digital night vision camera to analyse the plates, which confirmed the infra-red signature of the registration characters had been obscured.
Court upholds council decision after ANPR-evading number plates discovered on licensed vehicle
Under the Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) Regulations 2001, it is illegal to alter the characters on a number plate or apply materials that interfere with the plate’s retroreflective properties. Ghost plates are designed to prevent automatic number plate recognition systems from accurately identifying a vehicle’s registration.
ANPR technology is widely used by enforcement authorities across the UK, including for monitoring bus lanes, speed enforcement and other road traffic offences. Plates that obstruct infra-red detection can prevent cameras from capturing a readable registration number.
Shakeel appeared before a council licensing review hearing following the inspection and argued that he had purchased the Audi with the plates already installed and had been unaware they were illegal.
However, evidence presented during the hearing showed that the vehicle had previously failed an MOT test due to issues relating to its number plates before later passing a subsequent test.
Council officers suspected the plates had been temporarily removed to allow the vehicle to pass the follow-up MOT inspection before being refitted afterwards. Based on this evidence, the licensing authority determined that Shakeel had acted dishonestly and revoked his private hire driver licence with immediate effect.
Shakeel subsequently appealed the decision to Black Country Magistrates’ Court. After reviewing the case, the court dismissed the appeal on 16 January 2026, leaving the revocation in place and awarding the council its legal costs.
Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, Cabinet Member for Residents Services at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: "We take our licensing responsibilities seriously and our officers take proactive action in Wolverhampton and across the country - wherever our drivers work - supporting and carrying out regular operations with partners to protect the public and ensure they travel in safety.
“Wolverhampton also leads the way as the first council investing in state-of-the-art technology including specialist cameras to deter and detect ghost plates.
“The council will always take robust action when drivers fail to meet the high standards expected of them.”
Councillor Zee Russell, Chair of the Council’s Regulatory Committee, said, “Public safety is our top priority. The use of modified or misleading number plates poses a serious risk by concealing vehicle identity and undermining the integrity of the licensed trade.
“The council has completely banned all 3D licence plates so there is no excuse for taxi drivers found driving vehicles with them installed.
“We welcome government’s progress in legislating against ghost plates and encourage all licensing authorities to ban them as soon as possible."
