The Department Of the Environment has warned the Northern Ireland public to be vigilant after being made aware that a number of vehicle registration documents have been stolen throughout the United Kingdom.

While there is no evidence to suggest that any of these documents have been used in Northern Ireland, potential car buyers here should be wary when purchasing a motor vehicle.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea are urging motorists who are actively looking to buy a car to check the serial number that appears at the top right hand corner of the registration certificate. If it bears the prefix BG and falls within the range BG 9167501 to BG 9190500, they are advised not to purchase the vehicle.

Indications are that there are at least several hundred of these stolen documents in circulation. These V5C certificates are accompanying stolen vehicles that have had their identity changed to match that of a legitimate vehicle. This practice is known as cloning.

The cloned vehicles are sold on to unsuspecting members of the public who suffer significant losses when their vehicles are confiscated by the police.

These certificates have a different background colour on the Notification of Permanent Export (V5C/4) tear off slip on the second page, which looks mauve on the front and pink on the reverse. On legitimate documents they should be mauve on both sides.

If members of the public wish to check whether a certificate is genuine, prior to the purchase of a vehicle, they should ring DVLA’s helplines on 0870 241 1878.

(EF)