Former paratrooper wins stunning £4.5m Norfolk coastal home in Omaze prize draw
A former skydiving instructor has won a £4.5m coastal home after entering a £10 prize draw.
Daren Bell, 54, is celebrating becoming a multi-millionaire overnight, after winning in the Omaze Million Pound House Draw.
His new nine-bed mansion in Norfolk overlooks the Blakeney salt marshes and harbour, and comes with a heated swimming pool.
The main house has five en-suite bedrooms, while an additional guest cabin has four. There is also a standalone home office, gym, steam room and cinema.
The property comes with sprawling gardens with a wildlife pond.
A flabbergasted Mr Bell 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!
“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!
“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 house is magnificent, I was half expecting the palm trees to fold down and see Thunderbird 2 to pop out from under the swimming pool!"
He continued: “I work in facilities management so I spend a lot of time in multi-million pound buildings and now I own one - it's just mind-boggling.
“I think I’m going to move in and enjoy it for a bit, but I may decide to rent it out or I might just sell up and bank the cash. Whatever I decide to do, it’s totally life changing and the best dilemma I’ve ever had!”
He added: “Entering any competition is a bit of a leap of faith, but as a skydiver I’m used to that. Even if I hadn't won, I was happy knowing I was supporting a worthy cause"
If Mr Bell decides to rent the house out, local estate agents estimate he could earn £60,000 a year.
He also gets £100,000 in cash.
Mr Bell currently lives in Bournemouth with his four cats and one "nervous' goldfish - who he said will have "more than enough room" in their new home.
He was a paratrooper for four years, and then spent 24 years parachuting and skydiving instructing, where he amassed 2,222 jumps. He now works for a facilities management company based in London.
The Omaze draw raised £1.4m for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
The money could enable the RNLI to train 1,000 new lifeboat crew.
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