A man who hails from Watford said he was “gobsmacked” after being told he had won a £4.5 million Omaze home.
Darren Bell, 54, has been given keys to the Norfolk home and won an additional £100,000.
He said: “When I got the knock on the door to tell me I'd won the house in Norfolk I was gobsmacked, it’s not your average Friday night you find out you’ve won a £4.5m house.”
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Darren said he was gobsmacked when he found out he won. (Image: Omaze)
The multimillion-pound win is in stark contrast to any of his previous prizes.
He said: “The first thing I did was head straight to the local pub to celebrate, and of course I got a few rounds in.
The dining room. (Image: Omaze)
“The best thing I’d ever won before this was a £5 bottle of wine in a pub quiz that cost me £10 to enter. I went for a nicer drop to celebrate this win with that's for sure.”
The home comes with a heated swimming pool. (Image: Omaze)
Darren, who works for a facilities management company, added: “When I woke up on Saturday, I thought I must’ve eaten too much strong cheese and dreamt the whole thing, but now I've seen the house it's finally starting to sink in.”
The kitchen (Image: Omaze)
The former paratrooper and skydiving instructor described the five-bedroom house as “magnificent”.
This is the stand alone office that comes with the house (Image: Omaze)
It also comes with a heated swimming pool and an additional four-bedroom guest cabin and standalone home office.
The guest house. (Image: Omaze)
He said: “I was half expecting the palm trees to fold down and see Thunderbird 2 to pop out from under the swimming pool.
Norfolk Omaze house (Image: Omaze)
“It's even nicer in real life and I’ve always loved Norfolk. I skydived over the area where the house is 20 years ago - the birds eye view was good, but the views from the balconies are even better.”
The house's gym (Image: Omaze)
Darren, who now lives in Bournemouth with his four cats and goldfish, said he will move into his new home “for a bit”, but may decide to rent or sell it in the future.
The sea room (Image: Omaze)
The win came because of Darren’s £10 a month Omaze subscription.
Darren has won a 5-bedroom house. (Image: Omaze)
He said: “Even if I hadn't won, I was happy knowing I was supporting a worthy cause.”
The Omaze Norfolk house draw raised £1.4 million that will go to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
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