An ex-paratrooper who won a £4.5million mansion in a prize draw has kept working – even though he doesn’t have to.
Daren Bell, aged 54, is now the proud owner of a stunning coastal home in Norfolk, which he acquired for a mere £10 by winning the grand prize in the Omaze Million House Draw in 2023.
The stunning nine-bedroom property came complete with a swimming pool and idyllic coastal views of the Blakeney salt marshes and harbour.
Mr Bell also got the house mortgage free, with all stamp duty and legal fees covered – as well as a cash lump sum to help him settle in.
While he had the option to rent out the property for extra income or sell it to become a multi-millionaire, Mr. Bell was immediately captivated by the beauty of the home and chose to relocate from Bournemouth to Norfolk.
Despite considering himself a workaholic, Mr. Bell has not yet resigned from his job. However, he did confess that he had to be honest with his boss about taking some time off to visit the house for the first time.
He said: ‘I love my job as a Technical Support Director of a major facilities management firm, and I’m a bit of a workaholic – I don’t think I’ve had a day off in five years.
‘When I asked my boss for two days off at short notice (so I could visit the house for the first time) he was so worried I was seriously ill, that I had to let him know the truth. He was thrilled for me and promised not to tell anyone.’
‘I am still working full-time but I’ll re-evaluate that in a few years – I may cut down my hours or retire early. I sold my old home in Bournemouth and didn’t have a mortgage on it, so I have a good chunk of cash saved for the future.’
Speaking about the effect on his family life, Mr Bell says winning the multi-million pound home has ‘changed everything’.
He said: ‘Winning the house has been a seismic life change, it’s been the tonic we all needed. My family and friends are thrilled I won. I have a new house but it’s more than that – I have a new home, new life and a new family.
‘My first thought when I saw the house, apart from “Wow, wow, wow”, was that this needed to be a home for all of us.
Mr Bell revealed that when he lived in Bournemouth he thought he might never move in with his partner Claire and her four children.
He said: ‘There was no space for me in her [Claire’s] rented home. I lived around the corner, in Bournemouth, with my four cats and a fish, in a four-bedroom property I owned.
‘We loved each other but we were stuck with no way to move our relationship forward, as neither of us could afford to relocate. But winning the Norfolk house changed everything.
‘Now we’ve made the house I won into the home we now enjoy as a family, it’s wonderful because at times we thought we might not ever be able to live together.
‘Friends have all been in touch wanting to come to stay – I don’t mind at all because it’s a joy to have people in the house. I had some friends over to watch the Six Nations in the cinema room. It felt completely surreal at times, but everyone loved it.
‘I’m hoping to move my 84-year-old Dad in too, as there’s space for him to live in the cabin once he finally retires from his job as an NHS porter. It will be so nice to have all the generations together in one place.’
Talking about life after his huge win, Mr Bell said: ‘It still feels like a dream some mornings, even though we’ve lived in the house for well over a year now. Winning something of this magnitude does take a while to sink in, it’s not every day you become a multi-millionaire overnight.
‘When Omaze rocked up and told me I’d won this place, I was totally gobsmacked. I’ve never been the showy type, so to celebrate, we just went for a burger at a local pub, no champagne or anything, just a pint for me and a glass of wine for my partner Claire, while we sat there trying to comprehend what just happened.
‘The whole thing was so surreal, I remember waking up the next morning and thinking I must’ve been at the strong cheese again and simply dreamt it all!’
Since moving into the fully furnished property, Mr Bell and his family have added their own personal touch to the property.
He said: ‘It’s been nice to put our own touches on the house too, like photos on the walls and memorabilia from my younger days jumping out of planes.
‘My council tax is only £300 more per year than when I lived in a house less than half the size in Bournemouth. And I’ve installed solar panels, so my electricity bills are very reasonable.
‘We absolutely love life here in Norfolk. Everyone in the area has been so welcoming, we have great neighbours, it’s a real community here. On our first night there was a firework display, we joked that they’d put it on just for us!
‘The local pub is great, the landlord is brilliant and my partner Claire does some volunteering at the local church.
‘I’m an ex-paratrooper, so it’s been an honour to become the treasurer at the local Royal British Legion.’
He was a paratrooper for four years, before leaving to take up sports parachuting and skydiving instructing for 24 years – where he amassed an impressive 2,222 jumps.
‘I actually skydived over the house 25 years ago! It looked good from up there, but it’s even better on the ground,’ he said.
Mr Bell’s advice on how to win a life changing prize like this is simple: ‘If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone – but you’ve got to be in it to win it – so my advice is to get entering.
‘I never in a million years expected to win – but I did – so all I can say to anyone thinking about entering is go for it.’
Draw entries for the latest Omaze Million Pound House Draw, Norfolk are available now at omaze.co.uk
The spectacular house is the most valuable property ever to be offered in a UK prize draw – and comes with a wrap-around balcony offering uninterrupted, panoramic views of the North Norfolk Coast, a heated swimming pool, and its very own all-weather astroturf tennis court.
The draw closes this Sunday 23rd February 2025 for online entries and Tuesday 25th February 2025 for postal entries.
