A JEWISH man who fled Nazi Germany is waiting to see if he has any claim to money left in Swiss bank accounts by Holocaust victims.

Max Tuchmann, of Blackburn, has been linked to one of the World War Two deposit accounts because he shares the same name as the account holder.

The name, Tuchmann Ltd, London, appeared in a list of 1,800 names published in newspapers around the world in an attempt to trace the account holders' descendants.

But 74-year-old Mr Tuchmann believes it is just a coincidence and does not think he will be eligible for a share of an estimated £25 million in the accounts. He said: "My name is quite rare. However I am not aware of any family members who made deposits.

"But I will be filling in the form to see if I qualify."

The listed accounts were opened before 1945 by non-Swiss citizens and and their holders had not been heard from for more than 10 years.

Mr Tuchmann's father was an international trader in hops and he took his frightened family to London before the war broke out.

As Jews, they feared for their lives under Hitler's dictatorship.

Young Max came to the country in 1938 with his parents and three sisters when he was 15.

He said: "We came to England and many other relatives emigrated to other countries, but some remained in Germany and died."

Mr Tuchmann, who was naturalised in the 1940s, worked for Philips and moved in 1958 to Blackburn to work for the company.

He has lived in the town ever since and is married to Gwyneth.

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