The number of cars on the roads of the UK has gone down for the first time in 64 years, with the slight fall being the first outside of war years since records started in 1904.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the UK car population was 31,035,791 in 2009, 0.7% down on the previous year. More significantly it’s the first time the population has shown no growth since 1945.

The SMMT says contributing factors to levelling off have been the recession, more vigorous licence enforcement and the success of the scrappage scheme, which has seen nearly 300,000 cars scrapped instead of being sold on.