Rubbish Registrations? - Not Likely!

Charlie Ward bought his first personalised number plate over 20 years ago. It was a time of mixed emotions for him. While he was over the moon after buying the registration 211 CFW, he was saddened by the fact that his father Frank had to make him redundant from his waste disposal business. Fortunately, a very reasonable redundancy payment and the sound business sense he inherited from his father enabled Charlie to buy his own 7½-ton mini-skip lorry and set himself up in the waste disposal business.

Things started well and by 1989 he was looking for premises. Around that time he came across an ailing company in the same line of business, Gowing and Pursey. Without hesitation Charlie decided to take on the company name, the lease, their remaining lorry and 25 skips, effectively doubling the size of his business overnight. Over the next 10 years he got stuck in to building the business the only way he knew how – “with sheer hard work”.

During this time Charlie’s love of personal number plates stayed with him and in 1992 he bought 2 CW, adding 22 CW the following year. Both of these registrations are currently on Harley-Davidson F150, supercharged trucks - one of which has been specially tuned and lowered and now generates 650bhp, making it a veritable waste disposal hotrod! “Some of my skip lorries only generate 450bhp so you can imagine how powerful the Harley is.” Charlie explained.

Charlie has always bought his private cars, such as the Harleys, the Bentley Azure and his Hummer from specialist car suppliers Sparks of Acton in West London.

www.sparkscars.com

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