Hundreds of Brighton pensioners could be missing out on a four-figure windfall.

The former building society Alliance & Leicester is trying to track down

people entitled to a cash award currently worth around £1,500 each.

Nationally, nearly 70,000 people have left their slice of a £100 million pot of windfalls unclaimed since the company turned itself into a bank three years ago, it was revealed today.

Every person is eligible for 250 shares, currently worth around £1,300, plus accumulated dividends of £186. Despite writing four times to customers, urging them to come forward, around 70,000 nationally have failed to respond.

If they had picked up the shares, the people could have made extra money by selling them at a peak price, with 250 shares once worth more than £2,200.

The Alliance & Leicester believes many of the potential winners could be pensioners living in the Brighton area, where the Alliance Building Society was based before merging with Leicester Permanent Benefit Society in 1985.

A company spokeswoman said: "Some may be dead and in this case the shares would fall to members of the family or other successors. Most of them, though, will have moved house years ago and simply not told us their new address."

With the third anniversary of demutualisation in April, Alliance & Leicester will be able to sell any unclaimed shares. But it will have to keep all the money raised and the missed dividends for nine years in case any claimants come forward. If the bank does decide to sell the shares it will write again to the missing customers.

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