Builder wins £3m Victorian townhouse with £50 ticket - 'My knees almost gave way!'
A builder has won a £3m townhouse from a £50 raffle ticket.
Kevin Johnson, 34, a construction site manager, won the four-bedroom house in Islington, north London, after buying the ticket in the Omaze Million Pound House Draw.
After being told he had won, he said his "knees almost gave way".
Alongside the mortgage-free, stamp duty-free prize, he also won £100,000 in cash to help him move in with his wife Dee, 44, and their four sons.
Johnson, who has lived in a rented thee-bedroom flat in east London since 2011, said: “We’re still pinching ourselves. Whatever we decide to do long-term, this is going to give us so much security as a family, it's truly life changing for all of us.
“We’ve always wanted to own our own house one day, so this really is a dream come true for us - we’ll be moving in as soon as we can."
Of the moment he was informed, Johnson said: "When the team arrived at my doorstep to tell me the good news, I was so shocked my knees almost gave way!
“My wife was on her way home from work so I video called her straight away. She didn’t believe me at first, but when she saw the camera crew the penny finally dropped.
"She screamed and turned her phone around to tell the packed train that we’d just won the Omaze house – all the other commuters started clapping. It was crazy.
"I won’t need to use any of my carpentry skills on the house as it's absolutely perfect - the kids are going to love it."
If the property, which is spread over three floors, had been rented out, estate agents estimated it would draw up to £7,000 a month.
Meanwhile, the lottery also raised £2m in donations for the British Heart Foundation - making their win even more rewarding as Dee's late grandmother had suffered from heart complications in later life.
