The Department of Transport (DfT) is to test vehicle number plates containing RFD (Radio Frequency Identification) tags that can send VIN number data to readers more than 100m away, according to US publication Transport Communications.

The DfT gave the go-ahead for the microchipped number plates recently, with a trial expected later this year.

A spokesman said the point of the test is to see whether microchips will make number plates harder to tamper with or clone.