OMAZE home winners

A dad who grew up in public housing has won a stunning home worth 2.5 million in a prize drawing that raised over three million for charity.

Chris Milnes scooped up the magnificent 5,000-sq-ft home after entering the latest Omaze charity drawing without telling his wife and kids.

The thrilled 60-year-old who lives with his wife Jules in West Yorkshire, England, also received a cash prize of £100,000 tax free.

“When I got the call from Omaze to say I’d won something, I thought wow, a couple of grand would go down a treat at the minute,” said the father of three. “I never imagined that I might’ve won a house worth more than a couple of million—it's crazy!”

“I spent much of my childhood living in a council flat in Leeds. Things like this don’t happen to people like me.”

Chris now plans to sell the luxury home in Dorset, so he can give his children “the start in life I never had”.

OMAZE home in Dorset with Chris and Jules celebrating

“It was a massive surprise to me—but an even bigger one for my wife as she had no idea I’d even entered. To say she was shocked is a bit of an understatement, she was utterly speechless.” (Watch the moment Chris was surprised in a video below…)

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Chris had recently talked with his wife about downsizing, but they have now put their financial worries behind them.

“We currently live in a rented house, and only last week were discussing having to downsize to help keep our living costs down.

“We’ve worked hard all our lives and we’ve had to manage some challenging times over the years—but now everything has changed.

The salesman plans to spend a 'big holiday' with his family in the three-tiered home, before putting it on the market later this year.

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OMAZE home in Dorset

The o-mazing 3-tiered home features a kitchen that opens onto a hardwood deck, spa-like bathrooms attached to each of the four bedrooms, and a cinema room. The rainforest-inspired garden also has a hot tub and outdoor shower.

Even though the drawing was open only to UK residents—with tickets starting at just £10—the contest raised a whopping £3,150,000 for BBC Children in Need.

And it was “a lovely coincidence” that when they won, Chris and Jules were living in a town called Pudsey, because the face of the BBC charity is Pudsey Bear.

With this and previous home raffles across the UK, Omaze has raised over £43 million for a variety of good causes. Worldwide, Omaze has raised $170 million by raffling luxury cars, campers, homes—and even lunch dates with celebrities or presidents.

“Omaze gives people the chance to win amazing houses, like this beautiful house in Dorset, whilst also introducing charities to vast new audiences that they wouldn't otherwise reach,” explained James Oakes, Chief International Officer at Omaze. “It’s a real win-win for both charities and entrants.”

If they did decide to rent it out, it's estimated the property could achieve a long-term rental value between £5,000-6,000 per month, but instead the couple will buy a new smaller home together in Yorkshire, knowing the contest has changed their family’s lives forever.

“Not only will we be able to afford a new house for us, but we can also get all our children on the property ladder now. It means so much to be able to give them the start we never had.

“My son lives in Australia and we’ve only seen him once in the past 6 years – now we can go and see him whenever we want and fly them all over in style too—it’s just bonkers!”

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