A Wrexham AFC fan scooped up a £3million Omaze mansion and celebrated by heading to a match featuring his beloved team.
Process technologist Richard Baker won the keys to his new home situated in the New Forest after paying £25 to enter the Omaze Million Pound House Draw.
The 58-year-old, who lives with wife Yannick, 54, a teacher, and 17-year-old daughter Alicia, has been given £500,000 in cash in addition to the property, which comes mortgage-free, with all stamp duty and legal fees covered.
The four-bedroom home is set in more than an acre of private land, with landscaped gardens and a vegetable patch, and is a stones throw away from the coast and the Georgian market town of Lymington.
It comes complete with its own swimming pool, a yoga studio and a sauna pod, in addition to a dedicated cinema room, open plan kitchen, dining and sunken living area and a terrace boasting incredible views.
The family celebrated their win by heading to a Wrexham football match that evening.
‘We’d been getting ready to go and see Wrexham play when Omaze called round,’ he said. ‘I was already hoping for a win that night, but it turned out to be the biggest win of my life – I became a multimillionaire!
‘Once the Omaze team had been and gone, my daughter checked her watch and said: ‘We can still make the game – let’s go and celebrate’.
‘Wrexham might have only got a draw, but winning a multimillion-pound house on the same day is the kind of promotion we’ve always dreamed of.
‘The £500,000 that comes with the house will run the place for many, many years so I might even use some of it to try and get my hands on a Wrexham season ticket.
‘We’re normal people with normal jobs – but now we’re going to be living like Hollywood superstars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney!
‘I’ll be inviting Ryan and Rob round for a cuppa – my new place is certainly fit for Hollywood superstars.
‘Ryan Reynolds has a house just a few miles from where we live at the moment, and now we have a house that’s worth more than his – it all feels very surreal and like something from a Hollywood script.
‘We’ve got the cinema room to watch football and Welcome to Wrexham in – and a massive garden to have a kickabout.
‘The garden is so huge – I think it might be bigger than the Wrexham football pitch.
‘This house is absolutely stunning, the garden, the pool, the layout – it’s just incredible.
‘My wife has only done yoga a few times but she’ll be an expert in no time now we’ve got our own studio!’
Mr Baker and his family have the option to live at the property, rent it out or sell it.
If they decide to rent it out, local estate agents estimate the property could command a long-term rental income of around £3,000 per month.
They currently live in a four-bedroom home in Wrexham, where they have been for more than 20 years.
‘Winning this house is truly life changing, we can think about retiring and spending more time together as a family,’ Mr Baker said.
‘It doesn’t just change things for me and my wife but for the future of my daughter too – which is the most important thing.’
The Omaze Million Pound House Draw, New Forest, has raised £1million for Teenage Cancer Trust – the only UK charity dedicated to meeting the needs of people aged 13-24 with cancer.
The charity funds specialist nurses, youth support teams and hospital units to help people through their treatment and beyond.
The funds raised by Omaze will help fund Teenage Cancer Trust Nurses, who support around 7,000 young people with cancer every year.
It’s Omaze’s third campaign with Teenage Cancer Trust.
James Oakes, President of Omaze, said: ‘Everyone at Omaze is thrilled that Richard has won this spectacular home in the New Forest, whilst also helping to raise £1 million for Teenage Cancer Trust.
‘Omaze offers people the chance to win incredible homes, whilst also introducing charities to new audiences that they wouldn’t normally reach – it’s a real win-win for entrants and our charity partners.
‘We’re immensely proud that the Omaze Community has now raised over £100 million for good causes across the UK.’
