I won a £4.5 million house with a swimming pool and a cinema room… the council tax is cheap

It wasn't until I swept the last of the yellow confetti off my front walk that I realized what had just happened was real.

A few hours earlier, as I returned home from a day out with my partner Claire, 46, at around 5pm, a film crew suddenly turned up on my doorstep and announced that I had won a multi-million pound house.

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Someone threw a confetti cannon over us and a camera filmed my face as I was hit with all kinds of crazy emotions.

I asked, “Is this real?” I was sure, yes, I wasn't hallucinating: I had just won a £4.5 million dream house.

I saw a TV advert in May 2023 about the chance to win an incredible modern house in Cornwall and signed up to pay £10 a month to enter a prize draw.

The competition was organized by Omaze, a company that organizes prize draws for great homes and also raises money for charity.

I didn't win that house, or the two after that, but I kept my monthly subscription because it didn't seem like much for what I could potentially win – and I liked that some of the money went to charity.

But in September I discovered I had been chosen as the winner of an amazing property in Norfolk.

Since then it's been like a rocket went off under my life.

Moving our relationship forward

I'm the first to admit that I prioritized my job and my hobby of teaching skydiving over maintaining relationships.

But Claire and I didn't click until we met seven years ago, in her family's cafe, where she worked as a waitress.

Even though we got along so well, we never thought we could live together.

Claire has four children, ages nine to sixteen, from previous relationships, and there was no room for me in her rental home.

I lived around the corner, with my four cats and a fish, in a four-bedroom house that I owned.

I was a creature of habit and I didn't feel like I could handle it when the whole family came to live with me.

We loved each other, but we were stuck with no way to move our relationship forward because neither of us could afford to move.

But winning the Norfolk House changed everything.

Omaze million pound prize draw

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A house of dreams

We couldn't tell anyone what happened until Omaze was ready to announce my victory in the media.

So we hadn't even told the kids when we were taken to visit the house a few days after the unveiling.

I love my job as a technical support director at a large facilities management company, and I'm a bit of a workaholic: I don't think I've had a day off in five years.

So when I asked my boss for two days off at short notice (so I could visit the house), he was so concerned that I was seriously ill that I had to tell him the truth. He was very happy for me and promised not to tell anyone.

Walking into the house for the first time was incredible. It's a modern construction in exactly the style I love, and it's been beautifully decorated by the Omaze team.

It still takes my breath away when I get home.

I pinch myself so often to remind myself that I'm not dreaming, I joke that a side effect of winning is constant bruising.

My first thought when I saw the house, other than, “Wow, wow, wow,” was that this was supposed to be a home for all of us.

There are five bedrooms in the main house, plus four more in an attached cabin and a separate home office called The Hub, which I use for work.

The facilities are incredible – there's a home cinema, a gym, a huge outdoor pool and the living areas are enormous.

There is plenty of room for everyone to relax without bumping into each other.

I have a new house, but most of all I have a new life – a new house and a new family

Darren Bell

The house is located outside a lovely little village called Blakeney, near the Norfolk coast.

More than twenty years ago, I jumped out of a plane over the exact same piece of land and was struck by how beautiful it was.

Now I sat here on the floor and thought it was even more beautiful – and now it was mine.

We've never been flashy, so to celebrate we went for a burger at a local pub, where I had a pint and Claire had a glass of wine. The Omaze team asked us if we wanted champagne, but I think we were too overwhelmed to take it all in. We also met some RNLI lifeboat volunteers – the house draw raised £1.4 million for charity.

Making the house a home

When we went home, we showed the kids a video of the property and they were hysterically happy.

Everyone was running around, jumping up and down – there was a lot of shouting. We explained that they had to move the schools to Norfolk and although they were sad to leave their friends behind, they were all so excited to go to the new home.

On the day my win was publicly announced, a week after I found out I won, I gave an online presentation with my team. It was an important meeting and I was trying my best to concentrate, but suddenly my phone started buzzing so much that I had to sit on it.

Claire and the kids moved in first in October. Luckily, it didn't take long after the school year started for them to settle into their new school.

When I joined them a few weeks later, having settled my affairs in Bournemouth.

The Omaze house was fully furnished with beautiful quality pieces, which is a good thing because our furniture would have been completely lost in it. But it was also fun to add our own touches to the house, like photos on the walls and memorabilia from my younger days in the military.

I am working on creating a flower meadow and beehives in the garden.

We haven't had a chance to use the pool yet, but we can't wait to open it this spring. The kids haven't learned to swim yet, so it's great that they are finally getting the chance to learn such an important life skill.

Winning the house didn't mean I suddenly had millions in the bank, but I did get £100,000 from Omaze to help cover maintenance and bills.

Ironically, my council tax is only £300 more per year than when I lived in Bournemouth in a house less than half the size. And I've installed solar panels, so my electric bill should be reasonable.

I still work full time, but I'll reevaluate that in a few years: maybe I'll work fewer hours or retire early.

I sold my old house in Bournemouth so I saved about £750,000.

Claire doesn't have to work now, but she is very independent and enjoys working with people. That's why she now works part-time as a domestic helper and at the local church.

It is still early, but we are already well accustomed to our new life. The younger children go to a nice village school and the older children take the bus to school in the next town. Claire is involved in the church and I have started volunteering with the local branch of the Royal British Legion.

I hope to include my 84 year old father as there is room for him to live in the hut once he finally retires as an NHS porter. It will be so nice to have all the generations together in one place.

Friends and family have all reached out wanting to come stay. I don't mind that at all, because it is a pleasure to have people in your home. A few weeks ago I had some friends over to watch the Six Nations at the cinema. It was completely surreal, but they loved it.

Before I won the house, I was doing well. I saw light at the end of the tunnel with paying off my mortgage. I lived in a nice house, in a nice part of the country, alone with my cats.

Now all my real worries about money are over. I live in a great house, in a beautiful part of the country, and I'm here with my partner and her children. I am so grateful, I count our blessings every day.

Winning the house was a huge life change, but it was the tonic we all needed. My family and friends are very happy that I won, but above all they are surprised that I have finally found a place.

I have a new house, but most of all I have a new life – a new house and a new family.

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