FORGOTTEN bank accounts could unlock a £2m fortune hidden by the late film star Diana Dors.

Diana secreted earnings in dozens of accounts to avoid tax and, shortly before her death, gave her son, Mark Dawson, an encoded list.

Mr Dawson enlisted codebreakers who discovered one account in the name Mcmanus at a bank in Sunderland, and another in York.

Diana gave the list to her son when the pair were reunited during their last meeting in 1982. She gave the other half, with account numbers, to third husband Alan Lake.

Eighteen months after meeting her son, Diana died from cancer and Mr Lake, unable to come to terms with her death at the age of 53, committed suicide a few months later before Mr Dawson had a chance to ask about the code.

Mr Dawson's search, filmed for a Channel 4 documentary, led him to examine papers bought by fan Raymond Sanderson, of Whitley Bay, who paid £3,080 in 1992 for some of her belongings.

Mr Dawson, who was brought up in America, found notes of bank deposits but no account numbers.

The documentary, Who Got Diana Dors' Millions?, was shown on Saturday night.