A student nurse who was forced to ‘sofa surf’ due to rising rental costs has won the most expensive house ever raffled.
Oceanne Belle, 49, moved in with some friends after her landlord raised her rent to an amount she could no longer afford.
However, her days of worrying about paying the rent are now over after she’s landed herself a swanky four-storey townhouse in the posh Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea - the most expensive house ever won in a raffle.
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She also won £100,000 in cash and is free to live in, rent out or even sell the property, which has all stamp duty and legal fees covered.
Oceanne, who studies full-time at the University of Sunderland in London, initially blocked the call when competition runner Omaze got in touch as she didn’t recognise the number but later discovered the £5 million property was hers.
Oceanne said: “It was a Friday night and I’d been writing a dissertation all day and feeling a bit down in the dumps as it's so stressful.
''I got a few calls from a number I didn’t know so I blocked it, twice!
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''Then I got a text message telling me I’d won an Omaze prize - I just text back saying this must be a joke!?
“I eventually went downstairs to see who was there and was greeted by the Omaze team singing funny Christmas carols - then the next thing I knew I’d won a multimillion-pound house and my life had changed forever!
“I never win anything and had only ever entered Omaze draws twice before - I guess it's a case of third time lucky!
“When they told me I’d won the grand prize I was shaking. It’s still sinking in and I was still shaking on Sunday.
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“My partner and I are staying with friends in their flat at the moment as my old landlord kept on putting our rent up and up, so we couldn’t afford to stay there any longer.
''I’m studying to become a paediatric nurse one day, so it's very difficult to pay for rent in London while also being at university full-time.”
She continued: “It's so crazy that last week I was technically ‘sofa surfing’ at a friend’s flat - and now I’ve won a £5 million townhouse in Chelsea - it's just unbelievable.
“I can now invite all my family over from the Seychelles to come and stay.
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''I absolutely love cooking and can’t wait to use the kitchen - it's an amazing feeling. This has to be the best Christmas present ever!
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do long-term yet - but we’re definitely going to spend some time here and enjoy it.
''Winning this house is a dream come true, but it won’t change me as a person, I still want to fulfil my ultimate dream of becoming a paediatric nurse - and this win will help me to achieve that.”
The Omaze prize is part of a campaign that raised £2,600,000 for NHS Charities Together, the charity caring for the NHS.
Claire Reid