PREMIUM Bond prizes worth more than £1.2 million are waiting to be claimed in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The search is on for the winners of more than 28,500 unclaimed prizes.

Premium Bond prize warrants can go undelivered and unclaimed as a result of changes of addresses and people losing track of their Bonds.

The oldest unclaimed prize from the region dates back to 1963 – and the largest amount yet to be claimed is £10,000, which was won by a female Premium Bond holder in August 2012.

Jill Waters, National Savings & Investment’s (NS&I) assistant director of retail experience, is hoping that the mystery winners will come forward.

She said: “It is likely that the winners of the unclaimed prizes are unaware, or have forgotten, that they have Premium Bonds.

“Prizes often become unclaimed as a result of people moving house, or forgetting that Bonds have been bought for them as a child, or executors are unaware the Bonds are held when someone dies.

“By opting to manage your Premium Bonds online, you could reduce the risk of missing out on prizes as they can be paid directly into your bank account.”

The good news is there is no time limit for claiming prizes.

Premium Bond investors can check to see if they have won by visiting nsandi.com and using the Premium Bond prize checker on the homepage.

NS&I are encouraging Premium Bond holders to reduce the chances of their prizes becoming unclaimed by opting to have any prizes paid directly into their bank.

To sign up, holders should visit nsandi.com/register-our-online-service.