“AB1 is the holy grail of number plates. I wanted AB1.”

Worcestershire resident Tim Brooks told the West Mercia Police and Crime Panel that he wanted to buy the historic police number plate for £305,000, and possibly more.

The panel was scrutinising the sale of the plate last year by police and crime commissioner John Campion.

Mr Brooks said the first indication it was for sale was on 15th July through Brightwells auctioneers and was then told on 19 July that it had been withdrawn and sold.

He told the panel: “I went mad. I said if it was sold for less than my intended initial bid of £305,000, and I was prepared to go higher, and if it was sold to someone connected to the police, I wouldn’t let this rest.”

Former West Mercia chief constable Paul West bought the plate for £160,000.

Others were dismayed by the sale of the historic number plate at all, arguing it was a vital piece of Worcestershire, and more latterly West Mercia Police’s heritage, and said they believed the sale was ‘insider dealing’.

Mr Campion said Mr West made the highest bid: “There has been a lot of suggestion and rumour about what people might have offered, to what the plate might have been worth.”

He also said that the marketing of the sale had begun a month earlier in June.

Mr Campion referred to offers listed for the panel in papers not publicly available.

He said: “I was told of a Worcestershire resident who intended to offer £300,000. The word is ‘intended’, but he didn’t offer. I can’t account for offers not made.”

“No higher offers than the one I accepted were received.”

It emerged during the panel’s meeting that other offers included ones of £80,000, £100,000 and £125,000.

Mr Campion said selling the number plate directly to Mr West also allowed him to avoid paying commission and added: “I don’t mind being questioned over my decision to sell – that’s a matter of judgement. But I find suggestions I’ve been dishonest particularly offensive.”

Chairman of the panel, Councillor Brian Wilcox of Herefordshire County Council pressed Mr Campion why he accepted the offer after only a week of offers, and why he wasn’t prepared to wait for possibly bigger offers.

Mr Campion said before he accepted Mr West’s offer, he checked with Brightwells whether there were other offers outstanding and there were none.

Councillor Dave Tremellen of Shropshire Council said if the number plate had been sold at a public auction where anyone could bid, then there would have been no complaints and no need for the panel to scrutinise the decision.

The panel will write to the Commissioner about the sale.

Last month the Independent Office for Police conduct said it would not be investigating the sale as it saw no indication of any wrongdoing.