THE region has a new millionaire - but the jackpot winner wants to remain anonymous.
One lucky resident from somewhere in Tyne and Wear has won the £1m Premium Bond jackpot.
Ernie, the Premium Bond number generator, worked his way through billions of Premium Bond numbers before picking the winning combination.
The winner was told on Tuesday night by Agent Million, the National Savings and Investments mystery agent who pays a personal visit to winners.
Despite striking it rich, the bond holder does not want to be identified.
A National Savings and Investments spokeswoman said: "We have had 115 millionaire winners now and so far not one of them has wanted any publicity.
"The only person who knows where they live is Agent Million."
It is the third winner from Tyne and Wear since the introduction of the £1m Premium Bond jackpot in 1994.
In Tyne and Wear, 342,000 people own Premium Bonds worth £173m. There are about 4,100 unclaimed prizes in the region, worth a total of £248,000.
There is no time limit on claiming prizes. Premium Bond investors can check if they have won by logging on to www.nsandi.com and using the Premium Bond prize checker.
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