About 2,000 bidders were chasing 600 unusual registration numbers expected to raise a cool £2million under the hammer at a DVLA auction held in York's Grand Assembly Rooms today.

Frenzied bidding took place early in the day for P4 TEL, with four Mr Patels bidding in the room, four on the phone and two postal bids. The plate sold for £27,500.

S3 LBY went for a mere £3,400, while another phone bidder, possibly with a Transsylvanian dialling code, snapped up F4 NGS for £2,100.

The bidding hotted up for RO5SI, with Mr Rossano Rossi, of Barnsley, taking the spoils at £28,000.

Before dashing off, Mr Rossi said jubilantly: "I did it because I can afford it - I'm a lottery winner."

D4 NES went to a Mr Rylance, who said he had bought it for its dog connections rather than because of any Viking blood in his veins."I've only bought it to sell it on," he said. "And it was cheap at £2,000."

And D4 LES went not to a patriotic Yorkshireman, but to a Mr Dale, from Wolverhampton.

Auction organiser Byron Roberts, from the DVLA, said: "It's the second time we've been to York. The last time was in 1993 when there was a bomb scare."

And he hoped the attractive surroundings of the city would pull in the punters.

"York is an extremely nice part of the world - that actually influences prices quite significantly. If you are in a nice place with all the facilities, then it usually attracts better attendance."

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