Pudsey dad who grew up in a council house wins £2.5m home

Chris Milnes, 60, scooped the 5,000 sq ft new-build property after entering the Omaze Million Pound House Draw without telling his wife and kids.

He and his wife Jules, 56, have lived in Pudsey for seven years.

Chris Milnes, of Pudsey, with his wife Jules at their new £2.5 million home in Dorset, which he won in the Omaze Million Pound House Draw (Image: UGC)

Chris now plans to sell the luxury home near Poole, in Dorset, so he can become a multi-millionaire and give his children "the start in life I never had”.

The thrilled dad-of-three, who also bagged a cash prize of £100,000, said: “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d ever own a multi-million-pound house.

“I spent much of my childhood living in a council flat in Leeds - things like this don’t happen to people like me!

Chris Milnes, who won a new £2.5 million home, is pictured with his sister outside the council flat in Leeds where he grew up as a child (Image: UGC)

“When I got the call from Omaze to say I’d won something I thought wow, a couple of grand would go down a treat at the minute - I never imagined that I might’ve won a house worth more than a couple of million, it's crazy!

“It was a massive surprise to me, but an even bigger one for my wife as she had no idea I’d even entered.

"To say she was shocked is a bit of an understatement, she was utterly speechless.”

Chris had recently talked with his wife, Jules about downsizing, but following their massive windfall, they have now put their financial worries behind them.

"We currently live in a rented house - and only last week we were discussing having to downsize to help keep our living costs down - but now everything has changed.

“We’ve worked hard all our lives - and we’ve had to manage some challenging times over the years - but the future has never looked brighter after this win.

Chris Milnes' new £2.5 million home in Dorset (Image: UGC)

"This house is absolutely gorgeous - it’s like something out of Grand Designs - I keep expecting Kevin McCloud to pop his head around the corner and say hello."

Chris, a salesman, plans to spend a 'big holiday' in the three-tiered home with his family before putting it on the market later this year.

Chris said he did not plan to leave his job straight away after his life-changing win and said Jules, who he has been married to for 23 years, would keep working.

But the sporty dad said he would work on his tennis skills after he quit.

He said: “I’m not going to retire immediately.

"When I emailed my boss to tell him the news - he called me straightaway to double check I was staying on to finish our latest project.

“I think he was just as relieved as he was very happy for me!

“As soon as I finish the project I’m working on, I’ll finally retire - then I’ll have plenty of time to work on my backhand.

“My wife has worked her way up through the same company over the past 25 years and loves her job so will keep working.

“So for now, we’ll still get up and go to work in the morning, we’ll just be coming home to a much nicer house."

Chris said he was thrilled the prize draw had raised £3,150,000 for BBC Children in Need.

He added: “It’s a lovely coincidence we live in Pudsey and the Omaze Draw has raised so much money for BBC Children in Need, with the face of the charity, Pudsey Bear, being named after the town."

Chris has two children from a previous marriage, a son Ollie, 29, who lives in Australia and a daughter Lucy, 28, - as well as Esmé, 23, who he shares with Jules.

Chris said he would help their kids get on the property ladder before the couple bought a new home together in Yorkshire.

He added: “Winning this house has changed all our family’s lives forever.

“Not only will we be able to afford to buy a dream new house for us - but we can also get all our children on the property ladder now.

“It means so much to be able to give them the start we never had.

“I’m a proud Yorkshireman and love where we live, so we’ll be buying somewhere nearby, it’s so exciting.”

“My son lives in Australia and we’ve only seen him once in the past 6 years - now we can go and see him whenever we want and fly them all over in style too - it’s just bonkers!”