Lucky woman wins herself a sprawling £800,000 country manor by RAFFLE – after spending just £20 on tickets
Marie Segar, who works in finance, will also receive the title of Lady of Milling
A WOMAN is quids in after winning a mortgage-free £800,000 mansion after spending just £20 on raffle tickets.
Marie Segar, who works in finance, will also receive the title of "Lady" of Milling, which was raffled off alongside the property on the edge of Lancashire.
After learning of her success today, stunned Marie from Warrington, Cheshire, said: "Is this a wind up?
"Are you kidding? I'm in shock. Oh my Lord. I'm speechless.
"I've never won anything before. This is completely surreal.
"I've only ever won £9 on the lottery."
She also joked that she would be changing the name on her bank card to "Lady" Marie.
Dunstan Low decided to raffle off Melling Manor after struggling to sell the six bed mansion.
He bought the grade II listed manor, which was built in 1797, for £435,000 and then spent £150,000 on renovations, which included a new family bathroom and kitchen.
The 37-year-old fell in love with the grand property, which comes complete with a ballroom, in 2011 and moved into it with his wife Natasha, 33, and their two children Ozzy, five, and Dylan, 16.
But Dunstan says it has become increasingly difficult for him to find work in the area and he has seen his income dramatically reduced.
After finding himself unable to keep on top of his mortgage repayments, he decided to put the property on the market.
However, he had very little interest and so came up with the usual idea of raffling off the property instead.
Dunstan has now been overwhelmed with offers from people all over the world asking him to raffle their properties for them.
He first put the manor on the market in 2014 at the price of £800,000 for six months but only a few people looked round and there were no offers.
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The family decided to move out and rent the manor, but found tenants did not take as good as care of the property as they would like.
So they moved back in and pinned all their hopes on the raffle to raise money equivalent to its value so they can downsize to a more affordable property.
Dunstan said: "I have no regrets at all about the way we did this - I wouldn't change a thing.
"It was stressful but it has been an amazing experience.
"I want congratulate Marie on her win and I really hope that she enjoys the house.
"We really struggled to do it any other way. I would do it like this again."
The Low family needed to sell 500,000 tickets to raise money equivalent of the elegant Georgian home.
They have gained one million pounds from ticket sales.
Natasha, 33, said: "Financially it just got too much so I said let's just give it back to the bank.
"He said 'let me just try one more thing.'
"He went away and came back and said 'I have put the house up for raffle'.
"He had made a website and everything.
"I'll be honest, I never thought that this would work, I just thought he was nuts.
"All of this has made me so proud of Dunstan."
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