National Savings and Investments (NS&I) is offering its loyal Premium Bonds-holders an extra three £1m prizes in June to celebrate 50 years of draws.

However, savers who want to be sure of being entered into the draw need to have bought their Premium Bonds by 30th April, so now have less than two weeks to get a slice of the action.

For the big draw, savers will be in the running for five prizes rather than the usual two and NS&I said there will be approximately 1.5 million other prizes to be claimed as well, with the chance of winning staying at 24,000:1.

The prize fund for the draw will be in the region of £110m – a record – and NS&I is hoping that more people will join this popular savings scheme as a result of the extra prizes.

The first ever Premium Bonds draw was in June 1957, six months after they were launched with the slogan ‘Saving is a thrill’. They were designed to combat inflation and to enliven a dreary post-war Britain still suffering shortages.

The first draw was for 23,000 prizes, with the top award being £1,000. Since that day more than 145 million tax-free prizes, worth a total of £9.2bn, have been given away.