THE race is on to become Didcot’s proudest resident in an online auction for the number plate D10COT.

The official DVLA numberplate was bought seven years ago as an investment by Marc Joines, 36, of Swinburne Road, Oxford, and has never been fitted to a car.

He drives a Vauxhall Astra, with personalised number plate C1STRA to read like the model of his car.

When he bought his own number in 2003 from the DVLA’s online catalogue, he took a chance on Didcot’s future growth to buy D10COT for £650.

He said: “I’ve never lived in Didcot, and just know it’s a town about 10 miles away.

“But when I bought the number plate, I knew Didcot was an up and coming town.

“It was around the time that they were talking about building the Orchard Centre. Now it’s a much bigger place than it was, I think the time is right to sell it.”

The number plate is up for sale on his eBay website, with a starting price of £1,000.

The self-employed father-of-three said: “I think a business may buy it – someone who drives a van or a bus and wants the number plate for promotional reasons. But it could be a very special investment for someone.”

He said he had been tempted to buy other number plates over the years, including ones linked to Oxford United, but had never parted with any cash.

Mayor of Didcot Margaret Turner said: “I'm sure somebody out there will buy it. It will be interesting to look out to see who is our number one resident and fits it to their car.”

Since first selling personalised number plates in 1989, the DVLA has raised over £1.5bn for the Treasury. Most plates can be bought online, but a set of highly prized combinations is put up for auction six times a year.

The most expensive plate sold was 1D, which was bought by Nabil Bishara for £352,411.25 as a birthday present for his wife in March 2009.