That’s the way to do it! – Puppet-master and self-styled “professor” of fun Brian Llewellyn and his wife Marilyn have transformed their Punch and Judy and children’s entertainment business with a DVLA personalised registration – L444 FUN.

The couple from Darlington found their perfect number plate after browsing DVLA’s website, www.dvlaregistrations.co.uk managing to snap it up for £250 all-inclusive. Since then they have changed their name from simply ‘Punch and Judy’ to ‘Llewellyn for Fun’, changed their headed paper and bought up their website name, www.llewellyn4fun.co.uk. All these changes have been inspired by the plate and they're even getting more calls.

Brian, also known as Mr Punch, said: “We wanted a number plate to give the van that little bit extra but it has inspired us in all sorts of other ways. We never had a proper company name before and so this comes across as a lot more professional. We’ve always had our telephone number on the van but we get a lot more calls and reaction now.”

Brian started as a Punch and Judy puppeteer in 1977 following in the footsteps of his father, but it was still a hobby until he turned professional in 1988. As well as their renowned Punch and Judy show, Brian and Marilyn also offer magic shows, discos, balloonology, face painting and clown shows.

Brian added: “You certainly have to be a little crackers to be in children’s entertainment but although we bought the plate as a bit of fun it has definitely paid for itself. I think it’s the ‘FUN’ part of the plate people remember; they see the plate, talk about it and it sticks in their mind.”

To find your ideal personalised registration, log on to DVLA’s official web site www.dvlaregistrations.co.uk or call DVLA’s Telesales Hotline on 0870 6000 142 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday or on Saturday, from 9am to 1pm.