The UK DVLA bans number plates deemed sexual, discriminatory or aggressive, so you won’t be able to drive around a car labelled MU12 DER, PU15 SSY or PE12 VRT.

Somehow, one dodgy licence plate slipped through the net, though. A customer was unhappy to order a new van, only to find its registration started with the letters and numbers BJ69.

He had been due to pick up the vehicle from van leasing firm, but deemed it ‘too rude’. Chiefs at the firm have now contacted the DVLA to raise the issue that BJ – short for ‘Blow Job’ – and 69 – a sex position in which couples perform oral sex on each other – was a ‘bit much’ for some customers.

A spokesman said that the customer in question turned up to pick up their new van, a Nissan NV400, at its Birmingham showroom last week, but turned it down when they saw the number plate.

Company boss Andy Alderson, writing on Twitter, said: ‘Oh dear DVLA – A customer of ours rejected their van yesterday because they weren’t happy with the number plate that was allocated to them.

‘BJ is the prefix that has been designated to our dealer in Birmingham by the DVLA – thankfully we quickly sorted this for the customer, but will it be the last?’ Mr Alderson said: ‘Every year the DVLA make a song and dance about censoring naughty number plates, but somehow they’ve decided ‘BJ69’ isn’t too much.

‘While we’ve got a sense of humour about these things, one of the reasons our customers love Vanarama is because a brand-new van is the best way of making a good impression with clients.

‘Given this, we can understand that some customers might have some concerns about a number plate that looks like a quote from the Kama Sutra.

‘We’ll be raising this with the DVLA.’ A spokesman for Vanarama confirmed the incident, adding: ‘A customer was left stunned after DVLA issued a ‘BJ69’ plate for his brand-new van. ‘He rejected the brand new van as the number plate was too rude.’