Omaze £3m house draw winner from Essex bans kids from quitting jobs

Amanda and Michael Maher won the £3m home in a prize draw

A father has told his teenage children they cannot quit their Saturday jobs, despite winning a £3m home in a prize draw.

Michael Maher, 53, originally from Essex, won the keys to the "stunning" six-bedroom home in Somerset after paying £10 to enter the draw.

He, his wife and their two children have been living in a rented four-bedroom home on the outskirts of Luton.

They celebrated their win by going to the pub and then for a "nice curry".

Their new home, eight miles (13km) from Bath, comes with six bedrooms and is mortgage-free with all stamp duty and legal fees covered.

Set in mature woodlands, an orchard and rolling fields, it sits behind electric gates and is framed by a stone-walled, Italianate garden.

It also has a tennis court, an orangery and an oak-framed triple garage and workshops.

The house is a step up from the family's current four-bedroom rented home on the outskirts of Luton

Draw organisers Omaze said Mr Maher could live in the home, sell it or even rent it out for between £6,000 and £8,000 a month.

However, Mr Maher said: "My son and daughter asked us if they can quit their Saturday jobs now that we own a mansion - we said absolutely not.

"We want them to stay grounded. Going from a rented house in Luton to owning a six-bedroom house in the countryside is just mind-blowing."

Mr Maher's daughter joked that he had probably won a toaster, not a new home

Mr Maher also has two sons, aged 32 and 27, and a grandchild, aged two, from his first marriage.

He has been working in the IT industry for the past 25 years and his wife Amanda, 54, is a school administrative assistant.

He said he was "overjoyed" when he learned of his win.

"I had a call from Omaze saying I'd won a prize - obviously I was intrigued but my daughter was somewhat sceptical and told me not to get too excited as I've probably only won a toaster," he said,

"Luckily for me it turned out to be a £3m house - that also happens to come with a toaster.

"We went to the pub to celebrate and then on for a nice curry - it was your average Friday night, really, apart from the fact we'd just become millionaires."

Omaze said the draw also raised £3.5m for the RSPCA, the UK's largest and oldest animal welfare charity.