A WELSH business man from Oxford has invested £34,400 to purchase the number plate WEL 5H at a DVLA Personalised Registrations auction held in Newport, South Wales.

The business man, who wishes to remain anonymous, says he made the purchase to celebrate Wales' Grand Slam rugby success and he intends to display the number proudly on his new Mercedes CL 500 car.

WEL 5H was the first lot in a three-day auction of 1,500 distinctive registrations and according to Damian Lawson, marketing manager for DVLA Personalised Registrations, the plate sold for three times the expected value. "And we had a nice little surprise for the lucky bidder. Joe Calzaghe helped us to promote our Welsh auction and kindly signed a number plate which we will be sending to the customer."