Lincs saver wins £1m prize

13 April 2012

A SAVER from North Lincolnshire has won June's Premium Bond prize of £1m - with a bond bought 15 months ago.

The winner, whose identity is kept secret, has a total holding of a £20,000 and possibly lives in or around Grimsby, Cleethorpes or Scunthorpe.

National Savings and Investments - the Government-backed body that issues the bonds - informed the winner in person yesterday.

It is the 123rd time the £1m prize has been paid out since it was introduced in 1994.

Almost £52m in prizes will be handed out this month to 872,571 bondholders, the majority of whom (more than 800,000) will receive the smallest prize of £50. From 1 September, 2004, the number of prizes will be increased to 1,000,000.

Premium Bonds are an attractive investment for savers seeking risk-free haven for their cash. Although you do not receive interest, you have a one-in-24,000 chance of winning a prize and you can withdraw your money at any time.

Another attraction is the secrecy. Although jackpot winners are asked whether they would like publicity, none of the 123 winners to date have agreed. Their identity is carefully shielded from public gaze.

So what happens if your number comes up?

Winners are notified in person by a mystery 'agent', whose identity is also kept secret - though it is currently a woman.

Once the winner has proved that they own the bonds, Agent Million, as she is known, then arranges a bank account to be opened with one of major High Street banks for the winning cheque to be paid in. The fear is that paying £1m into a normal current account would arise suspicion and could reveal the identity of the winner.

Winners are then offered the services of a panel of financial advisers, who also cannot be named.

June's winning number?was: 79XG010223.

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