Is it you? £200,000 unclaimed Premium Bond prizes in Shropshire

There are more than 4,500 prizes that have not been collected in the county and the Government organisation that runs the service is appealing for holders to come forward to claim them.

The £1,000 unclaimed prizes in Shropshire include:

• A woman with £75 of bonds whose number 5DW683897 came up in December 2005

• A man with £7 of bonds whose number 2DS102449 came up in January 1987

• A woman with £10 of bonds and number 2JT943283 who was a winner in September 1985

• A man with £64 of bonds with number 2BT177834 who won in March 1997

• A man with £600 of bonds including 25RN813142 who won in January 2007

At least two people who have less than £10 of bonds have won £1,000 but have not yet claimed their prizes.

Those with Premium Bonds can also now sign up to have their winnings paid into their bank accounts to reduce the chances of prizes going unclaimed in future.

The NS&I is conducting a search for people Britain who have not claimed prizes, with more than 928,000 Premium Bonds prizes worth over £41 million remain unclaimed.

Steven Kennedy, from NS&I, said: "Premium Bonds prize warrants can go undelivered and unclaimed as a result of changes in Premium Bonds holders' addresses, or if bonds were bought for them as a child and they have subsequently lost track of them. For customers to avoid missing out it's important for them to keep NS&I up to date of any change in contact details.

"There are a number of people in the region all due to receive £1,000."

He said almost a third of the UK population have invested over £51 billion in Premium Bonds and every eligible bond is entered into the monthly prize draw. Investors forgo interest to have the chance to win tax-free prizes.

Every month almost two million prizes are distributed, either by warrant, like a cheque, or paid into holders' bank accounts. The latter service was introduced fairly recently. To sign up to it holders should visit: http://www.nsandi.com/register-our-online-service

The oldest unclaimed prizes in Shropshire is a £50 win dating from April 1972. There is no time limit for claiming prizes. Premium Bonds investors can check to see if they have won by visiting nsandi.com and using the Premium Bonds prize checker on the homepage.

People can also write to NS&I, quoting their name and address, any former names and addresses, date of birth and, if known, their Premium Bonds holder's number. The address is Premium Bonds, National Savings and Investments, Glasgow, G58 1SB, UK.