Prince's sisters have demanded the return of a trove of unreleased music that has been removed from a vault at his home.

The collection, believed to include master tapes of unpublished material worth millions of pounds, was reportedly moved from the Paisley Park complex in Minnesota to a secure site in Los Angeles.

Sharon and Norrine Nelson, Prince's half-sisters, claim the firm looking after the estate has not disclosed where or why the music was taken.

And the two heirs to his estate, valued at an estimated £150m ($200m), say they are prepared to take legal action to get it back.

"We want the music back home in Paisley Park, where it belongs," said Sharon.


Norrine branded the move "extraordinary and unconscionable".

Image: Prince's museum at the £7m Paisley Park complex

About 30 albums are believed to have been recorded at the £7m Chanhassen complex in Minneapolis.

The sisters say a "Paisley Park representative" informed them that four truckloads of material had been removed from a vault last month.

The company acting as the executor of the artist's estate, Comerica Bank & Trust, said it used an expert storage firm to ensure the music and videos were properly preserved.

It claimed the plans were discussed with Prince's heirs on four occasions.

The company said: "After reviewing the storage conditions at Paisley Park and out of concern regarding the consequences of a fire or other loss at the facility, Comerica determined that it was necessary to transfer the audio and visual content to a secure location where all of the original content could be securely stored and digitised as a safeguard against the destruction or loss of any original content."

Image: Prince fans leaving balloons and flowers at his home following his death in 2016

The Purple Rain singer died in April 2016 aged 57 following an accidental overdose of painkillers.

The multiple Grammy Award-winner was found unresponsive in a lift at his home.

Prince did not leave a will and a judge ruled in May that his six surviving siblings would be heirs to his estate.