A widowed grandmother-of-six has won the keys to a £4.5m Cornish waterside mansion in the UK's biggest ever house draw.
June Smith, 74, from Essex, has won the latest Omaze Million Pound House Draw - a six-bedroom, three storey house overlooking the picturesque Fowey Estuary in Cornwall.
She has also been given £100,000 in cash to help her settle in - plus the house comes mortgage free, with all stamp duty and legal fees covered.
June, who bought her £4,500,000 winning entry for just £25 – sadly lost her husband of 43 years, Ron, last year when he suffered a heart attack aged 74.
June has three children - Katherine, Wesley and Rory - and six grandchildren, Katherine and Rory live in East Anglia with two children each, and Wesley lives on the Gold Coast of Australia with his wife and two children.
June has lived in her two-bedroom detached house in Essex for the past 17 years. She worked as a bookkeeper before she retired to have children. Ron had worked as an architectural designer all his life.
A stunned June said: “I was just settling in for a standard Friday night in front of the tele - then the next thing I knew I’d won a mansion, I couldn’t believe it. The first thing I did was call my children, the second was to open a bottle of red!
“My husband Ron died last year, but I’m sure he played a part in this win – he won it for all of us. Ron always wanted us to be financially secure as a family - and this house gives us that security.
“He spent his life working with architecture, he’d have absolutely loved this house – it’s a work of art.
“We used to come for family holidays in Cornwall and stay in a caravan, but now we own a £4.5m mansion – it’s just unbelievable!
“The house is truly stunning and the views are simply breathtaking, even the rain couldn’t dampen our spirits when we first came here, it was love at first sight.
“It has its own yoga studio, so maybe I’ll take that up, although my son says it would make a great bar too.
“I’ve got six beautiful grandchildren and have now got plenty of room for all of them to come and stay - we’re going to have the best summer holiday ever.
“Having spent some time at the house, I’m definitely going to keep it for a while, whatever I decide to do long term it’s a life changing win for our family.”
She added that her late husband Ron would have "absolutely loved the design of this house" and will be "looking down with an approving smile".
The dream home is the biggest ever house prize draw to be given away in the UK. June is free to either live in the house, rent it out or sell it.
If June decides to rent it out, local estate agents estimate that the property could achieve £5,000 - £7,000 per month from long-term rentals - and up to £14,000 a week from peak season holiday rentals.
The property, which comes with furnishings included, was described as an outstanding example of modern architecture and was designed by the highly acclaimed West Country architects Harrison Sutton.
The bright and airy entrance hall welcomes you into the property, with an adjacent home office that provides panoramic estuary views.
The main sitting room forms the heart of the home and gives incredible views across the estuary through floor to ceiling glass doors that lead onto one of the terraces.
A state-of-the-art kitchen and breakfast room features a central island and glazed sliding doors on two sides that lead out onto a cantilevered balcony.
A secondary kitchen pantry sits on the other side of the hallway, next to a stylish dining room with ample space for entertaining family and friends.
Upstairs, you'll find a large open landing, leading to the main bedroom, which has glazed walls on two sides and some of the finest estuary views the property has to offer.
In addition to a dressing area, there is a luxury en-suite bathroom with a walk in shower.
The lower ground floor contains a utility room with a back door and playroom area that could be used as a seventh bedroom, again offering views of the estuary.
To top things off, a yoga studio sits at one end of the garden with yet more breathtaking estuary views thanks to the curved floor to ceiling window.
To the front of the house, steps lead down to a concrete landing stage that provides direct water access to the property’s own mooring.
The property is close to an array of Cornwall's sandy beaches and only 200 yards away from the town of Fowey via ferry.
As well as making June a multi-millionaire - the Cornwall II House Draw also raised £2,100,000 for Marie Curie, an end-of-life charity that fights to make sure everyone gets to lead the best life they can, right to the end.
Matthew Reed, Chief Executive at Marie Curie, said: “Congratulations to June and her family on winning this beautiful home. We want to express our enormous gratitude to all members of the Omaze community whose individual contributions will collectively make a tangible improvement to the lives of people affected by terminal illness in the UK.
“The money raised could fund around 100 Marie Curie Nurses and Healthcare Assistants to support people with terminal illness. It would mean nearly 2,000 families receive expert care and emotional support when they need it most.
“Every five minutes, someone in the UK dies without the care and support they need. This is heart-breaking not only for each person it happens to, but also for the people who love them. That’s why this campaign has been so impactful.
“This partnership with Omaze will help Marie Curie be there for more people. Our nurses will be able to support more families to make the most of the precious time they have together.”
Sheryll Murray, local MP for South East Cornwall, said: "I am delighted to see the incredible success of the Omaze prize draw for a house in my constituency, which has raised an astonishing £2.1 million for Marie Curie.
"This is an outstanding achievement and a testament to the generosity of people across the country who supported such a worthy cause. I would like to extend my thanks to Omaze and everyone who took part in this initiative.
"The funds raised will make a real difference to the lives of those living with a terminal illness and their families, providing vital support and care when they need it most."
James Oakes, Chief International Officer at Omaze, said: “We’re thrilled that June has won her dream home - and was able to contribute towards the fantastic £2,100,000 raised for Marie Curie in the process.
“Omaze is a win-win for both charities and entrants. By offering incredible prizes, like this stunning house in Cornwall, we give people the chance to win the house of their dreams, while also introducing charities to audiences they wouldn’t usually be able to reach. This method of fundraising is helping to make a big difference. We’ve already raised £13,250,000 for good causes across the UK.”
Draw entries for the next Omaze Million Pound House Draw in the Cotswolds are avaulable now at www.omaze.co.uk.
The draw closes on Sunday 25th June 2023 for online entries and Tuesday 27th June 2023 for postal entries.
