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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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 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.”
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 former paratrooper and skydiving instructor described the five-bedroom house as “magnificent”.
It also comes with a heated swimming pool and an additional four-bedroom guest cabin and standalone home office.
He said: “I was half expecting the palm trees to fold down and see Thunderbird 2 to pop out from under the swimming pool.
“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.”
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 win came because of Darren’s £10 a month Omaze subscription.
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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