Ashby de la Zouch family win £3m house from £25 raffle ticket

A couple say they are still "pinching ourselves" after winning a £3m house in Cornwall in a prize draw.

Uttam and Raki Parmar, from Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, bought a £25 ticket for the charity draw in July.

Organisers told them they had won a prize - but it was only when they checked the entry code that they learned they had bagged the house.

The couple, who have a 26-year-old son, have also been given £50,000 to help them settle in to their new property.

Mr Uttam, a 58-year-old manager at an electronics firm, said he was at a hospital appointment when he was alerted to their winning ticket by draw organisers Omaze.

"We were so excited that we might have won the grand prize, we called our son Aaron to see if the winning entry code matched ours," he said.

"When he triple checked the numbers matched, we must've burst his ear drums screaming down the phone."

The house, which sits outside the Cornish village of Rock, comes with four bedrooms and panoramic views of the Camel Estuary.

"I've always considered myself a lucky person, firstly because of my wonderful family - but I've also won a few bits such as a TV and coffee table - which I was pretty happy with to be honest," he said.

"I never dreamed I'd win anything as extravagant as a £3m house though.

"We've holidayed in Cornwall over the years and always thought it would be incredible to have a place here - and now we do. We're still pinching ourselves.

"We have a large extended family - so no doubt they'll all be asking to have their next birthday parties here."

The couple, who have lived in their current four-bedroom house since 2017, say they are now deciding whether to move into the Cornwall house full-time, rent it out or sell it.

Omaze said the draw for the house helped to raise more than £1m for charity partner Blood Cancer UK, which funds research into the disease.

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