Kent has a new millionaire after a woman from the county scooped the £1million top prize in December's Premium Bonds draw.

The lucky winner - who holds £30,000 in bonds, the maximum allowed - becomes the 13th person to net the jackpot since the prize was introduced in 1994.

She bought the winning bond in August 2004.

Other Kent residents have still to claim their winnings - and one £1,000 prize, owed to a person who holds just £7 in bonds, has sat unclaimed for 23 years, despite NS&I's efforts to trace them.

Another woman from the county has still to lay claim to a £50,000 prize won in the November 2007 draw.

Fortunately, there is no time limit for claiming prizes.

Premium Bonds are an investment where, instead of interest payments, investors have the chance to win tax-free prizes. They were officially launched by Chancellor Harold Macmillan in his 1956 budget.

Within Kent, around 689,000 people hold Premium Bonds worth more than £1.4billion.