An NHS worker has won an incredible Lake District mansion worth £3 million in a prize draw – after buying a ticket for £20.
Catherine Carwardine, 59, originally from Wolverhampton, initially thought the win was a hoax as she was told about it on April Fools Day - but soon realised it was the real deal.
She had bought the winning ticket in the Omaze Million Pound House Draw on Valentine’s Day for £20, using a promotional code to score 120 entries.
Catherine worked as a nurse for 40 years and now works in an IT role for the NHS.
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She and husband Chris, 59, have been living in a five-bedroom home in Telford with their youngest child, 18-year-old Mya – where they have been fostering children for the past five years.
The couple also share Gareth, 35, Jessica, 31, Joshua, 21, and 19-year-old Charlotte.
Their incredible new home comes fully-furnished and has a terrace with breath-taking views of the lake itself, cosy log fires, a cinema room, sauna, steam room, state-of-the-art gym, staggered gardens and a workshop.
The property is located just over a mile from Windermere station, so Catherine and the family will not be short of activities to entertain them in the area.
All stamp duty and legal fees are covered, Catherine will also be given £20,000 cash and is free to either live in the house, rent it out or sell it.
Estate agents estimate that the average rental income for holiday and long-term letting of the property is between £6,000 and £8,000 per week, rising to £12,000 during the high season.
The lucky winners found out they’d scooped the main prize whilst they were on holiday in Italy, after a team from Omaze paid a surprise visit to their front door, only to be greeted by daughters Charlotte and Mya.
The team had to video call Catherine and Chris, who initially thought it was an elaborate hoax, as it happened to be April 1st.
Catherine said: “At first, we didn’t believe it as it was April’s Fools’ Day. We thought the kids were playing a prank on us, but then we realised we actually had won and were totally gobsmacked.
“We didn’t know how to celebrate as we were both in shock, I don’t think either of us slept a wink that night!
“When we got back from holiday the children greeted us on the driveway with champagne spraying everywhere, we felt like F1 drivers!
“Now we’ve seen the house we’re still pinching ourselves, it’s absolutely perfect and already feels like home. We’re definitely going to keep it and can’t wait to move in!
“We will rent it out to generate some extra income so we can help all our children and pay off our mortgage faster. We can even finish our current house, which has been a work in progress for years. We love this new house so much though we don’t want to rent it out too often.
“All the children are now busy planning the rest of our lives, they’ve never been so interested in us. I’ve worked for the NHS for 40 years and even though winning this prize is so life changing, I love my job and will keep on working for the foreseeable future.”
As well as making Catherine and Chris multi-millionaires, the campaign was in aid of Alzheimer’s Research UK, and netted the charity £1 million.
Hilary Evans, Alzheimer’s Research UK’s Chief Executive, said: “By working with Omaze, we were able to raise a substantial amount of money at zero risk and zero cost to Alzheimer's Research UK.”
Actor and Alzheimer’s Research UK Ambassador Stephen Tompkinson who launched the draw said: “I first got involved with Alzheimer’s Research UK shortly after I lost my father to Alzheimer’s disease. The work the charity does is incredible, and the £1,000,000 raised by this draw will make a dramatic difference.”
James Oakes SVP International at Omaze said: “We’re delighted that Catherine has won her dream home - and was able to contribute to this fantastic £1,000,000 raise for Alzheimer’s Research UK in the process.
This was the seventh Omaze Million-Pound House Draw in the UK and brings the total raised for good causes to £4,750,000.
The eighth house draw is a six-bedroom, £3,500,000 house in the Cotswolds, to raise funds for the RSPCA.
Draw entries are now available on the Omaze website. The draw closes on 5 June 2022 for online entries and 7 June for postal entries.
