'A dream come true' - family who won Wakefield £1 raffle house tell of their shock at winning their dream home

Claire Reynolds and her partner Ben Binks will be moving into the four bedroom house in Ossett with children Alfie, 15, Riley, 13 and two-year-old Hudson-Boe after their ticket was drawn at random.

And it's all thanks to Dale and Kathy Tate, who on deciding to relocate their family to Australia, offered their house and 2017 Volvo XC90 Hybrid car, on an online auction site, making 400,000 raffle tickets availble for just £1 each.

After initially only going to buy five tickets, Claire and Ben went all in and bought 100 tickets - and the gamble certainly did pay off!

Claire, 34, said they found out the life-changing news late on Sunday night.

She said: "It was about 11.30pm and my son shouted that we had won the house - which I didn't believe! Then I looked my phone and had saw a tonne of messages from people.

"We had a video call with Dale and Kathy and ended up going for a look at almost midnight. It was lovely, all of the neighbours were coming out to welcome us."

Claire, who lives on Fairleigh Road in Tingley, said the win will be life-changing for her family as she and Ben are currently living apart due to lack of space in her two-bedroom house.

"We're unable to all live together as there is just no room, so Ben is living at his mum's house.

"And Riley, is sleeping in the dining room, so he can have a bit of his own space, so winning is absolutely amazing. We're in complete shock.

And moving to Ossett is a dream come true for Claire.

"About three weeks ago we were in Ossett and I said i'd love to live there, but it was just a dream. There was no way we could have bought a house there.

"Not being able to live together and with three boys, it's been so tough, such a struggle, so this is a big relief for all of us. We can finally all be together as a family.

"We just can't believe it."

Ben, 34, who buys and sells cars, said: "It really is unbelieveable. It's a dream come true. The people who know us know we've struggled and have had to work hard for what we do have, but we would never have been able to get the house that we need for us as a family.

"The kids are growing up and need their own space - although the argument now is who gets which room! The loft is amazing, so there's a fight about who's going to get that one!

"It's such a big deal for us. It's our ideal home, a dream come true. We're not materialistic people, we just do our best so we can give our kids the best things possible. That's all we want."

And Ben said he feels so unbelievably happy that he and his family have had their dream come true, they want to help give someone else a bit of good fortune.

He said: "When things have settled down a bit, I really want to help someone else, a family, who need a bit of luck.

"Maybe offer a car to someone or some money - we've been so lucky, I would love to be able to do a little something for someone else."

And something else that's in the pipeline for the couple is a wedding!

Ben said: "We'll probably get married now. We've been together 17 years and have three kids and now we have a lovely new home where we can finally live as a family.

"It really is a dream come true."

Dale and wife Kathy, who will be moving to Australia in September, said they are over the moon for Claire and Ben.

Dale said: "It's been amazing. We sold 400,000 tickets in only one month and it's the best news ever. We are so delighted for them."