Drivers are being urged to secure their number plates with tamper-resistant screws after thefts more than doubled in four years. Figures from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency ( DVLA ), obtained by Churchill Motor Insurance, reveal 7,381 incidents of stolen plates were recorded in the UK last year - up 30 per cent from 5,683 during the previous 12 months, and is over twice the 3,376 thefts seen in 2021. The problem extends to number plate cloning, which also recorded a 53 per cent increase over the same period, from 7,430 incidents in 2021 to 11,394 last year. Criminals steal or clone number plates to accumulate traffic or parking fines that are sent to the owner of the original vehicle, or evade detection by police cameras, facilitating criminal activity. Whereas plate thefts are usually noticed quickly, victims of cloning may only realise what has happened when traffic or parking fines start arriving in the post.…