ATTEMPTS to kill off car clocking have taken a key step forward with new moves to launch a mandatory registration of mileage on vehicle licence documents.

A record of a vehicle's correct mileage will have to be recorded whenever it is registered in a new owner's name, as well as every time the car has an MoT test. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is working on new computer systems that can cope with the vast amount of new information they will have to hold on Britain's 20 million-plus cars.

Dr Kim Howells, told the House of Commons: 'The key to stamping out illegal practice in this area is to provide prospective purchasers and enforcement authorities with more reliable information about the true mileage of second-hand vehicles.

'The Government intends to do this by making the recording of mileage on vehicle registration documents and on vehicle licence applications mandatory and by introducing a system for recording vehicle mileage during MoT tests. This will complement an industry initiative to record mileage at the time that vehicles are serviced.'

The Retail Motor Industry Federation was quick to welcome the move. David Evans, chief executive of the RMI, said: 'Finally, the Government has taken a responsible attitude and marginalised the highly disreputable practice of clocking. What the industry needs now is a ban on the sale and use of equipment designed to alter vehicle mileages, unless for legitimate purposes.'