One Direction number plate: Rare registration 1 DUK goes on auction

One Direction fans are being given the opportunity to own a unique piece of memorabilia in the form of numberplate.

The rare reg – 1 DUK – is expected to fetch a scorching £30,000 ($47,000) when it goes on auction at a Black Country auction on 4 July.

To the naked eye, the licence, which once adorned a Ford Zephyr, is nothing out of the ordinary. But fans of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson will likely appreciate the significance of the letters.

Nick Davies, the director of Fieldings Auctioneers' Stourbridge, told the Birmingham Mail: "The plate – complete with the retention document – has been in private hands for several years.

"The vendor, who no longer drives, hopes that it will appeal to a younger generation of One Direction fans."

While £30,000 might seem like a lot to shell out for a number plate, it pales in comparison to what some petrolheads have paid.

In 2008 'F1' was bought by a Bradford businessman for £440,000.

Billionaire Chelsea boss Roman Abramovich is the proud owner of the 'VIP 1' plate, which cost a whopping £285,000.

In 2014, a record was set when collector John Collins paid an impressive £518,000 for the '25 O' reg.

"I was just determined to own them, it was just a case of how much I was going to have to pay for the privilege," he said after winning the bidding war.

In an interesting twist the "I D" number plate sold for £352,000 in 2009, a year before One Direction catapulted to fame on The X Factor. Lebanese property tycoon Nabil Bishara brought it as a birthday present for his wife.