HPI is urging used car dealers to conduct regular mileage checks on stock after an independent dealer in Birmingham has been jailed for five years and six months for clocking more than four million miles off cars.

Believed to be the biggest investigation ever by Birmingham Trading Standards, the case revealed that the criminal trader had made a profit of £170,000 on vehicles by tampering with mileages.

Neil Hodson, HPI managing director, said: “Concern over clocking is on the increase. What was perceived to be a ‘thing of the past’, is now firmly back on the national agenda.

“The biggest risk for dealers is selling a vehicle, unaware that it has an altered mileage.

“One in 20 vehicles checked with HPI show a discrepant mileage, but too many dealers are still taking unnecessary risks and underestimate the scale of the problem. While the Birmingham case is extreme, Trading Standards Officers across the country are taking a firm stand against mileage fraud.”

HPI runs the National Mileage Register (NMR), an independent database of vehicle mileages in the UK.