Hunt on for prize winners

There is no time limit on claiming prizes

Over 8,000 people in the north east of England are missing out on a share of prizes worth over half-a-million pounds.

National Savings and Investments are holding more than £500,000 worth of unclaimed premium bonds prizes, won by people in the region.

A total of 8,496 people have not collected their money.

The biggest unclaimed prize is worth £5,000 and was won by a person from Hartlepool.

Website check

Wendy Franklin, from National Savings and Loans, said prizes go unclaimed because people move house without passing on their address.

She said they were keen to track down the winners and said there was no time limit on claiming.

Ms Franklin said: "It is simply a question of people being very busy when they are trying to move house and they just forget to pass on their change of address details.

"We urge them to get in touch with us and check whether they are a winner.

"The easiest thing to do, if they still have their premium bonds, is to log onto our website and use our premium bond prize checker."