The sale of York's most famous private number plate would ignore the wishes of the man who gave it to the city, the Evening Press can reveal today.

The registration plate at the centre of a row

An official letter, written in 1963 and obtained by the Evening Press, shows previous owner Cyril Myton wished the Lord Mayor's DN1 plate to stay in York,

City of York Council plans to raise £40,000 towards a £4 million budget deficit by selling it.

The number plate belonged to the first car ever to be registered in York. It goes back to January 1, 1904, when it was issued for a ten-horsepower Wolsley, on the day that it became law to have registration plates.

Long before the days of the DVLA in Swansea, 'DN' was simply a code issued to York motorists between 1904 and 1928.

Council leader Rod Hills today said he would personally be willing to drop the plan following mounting public pressure.

The late Mr Myton wrote: "We agreed that the most suitable final use would be for the Lord Mayor's official car."

The letter has lent ammunition to opponents who argued that selling the plate, the first to be issued in York, would detract from the city's heritage.

And Coun Hills said: "I personally don't know the background concerning Mr Myton's wishes but, in my opinion, it is not worth our while forcing this on people if it is not what they want." The proposal must still be discussed by the policy and resources committee meeting tomorrow.

Robert Littlewood, who lived next door to Mr Myton and who knows his 89-year-old sister-in-law Helen Benson, said: "Cyril would turn in his grave if he knew this sale was being planned. I have mentioned it to Miss Benson, who is not well, and she was very, very upset. Cyril wanted this to stay in the city. I hope this letter will affect the council's decision."

Coun Hills said it was possible that plans to buy a new civic car, costing £50,000, could be changed to leasing the vehicle. "That would make the number plate redundant. It is going to be more advantageous in terms of finance to lease a Lord Mayor's car rather than have the council own it, and if that happens then we will not be able to use the DN1 plate on it anyway," he said.

"But we don't necessarily need to sell it. Nothing has been decided yet."

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