Photos: Devon mum’s £25 lottery ticket lands £4m Cheshire mansion

A Devon mum-of-two has swapped the school run for celebrity neighbours after winning a £4 million mansion in Cheshire’s exclusive ‘Golden Triangle’ — plus £250,000 in cash — for just £25.

Emily Ward, 48, landed the jaw-dropping prize in the latest Omaze Million Pound House Draw, bagging a striking four-bedroom home in Alderley Edge — an area famed for its millionaire footballers, lavish parties and ultra-private lifestyle.

Complete with panoramic countryside views, a full leisure suite (pool, sauna, gym), walk-in wine store and landscaped gardens, Emily’s new pad sits on a private road alongside past and present residents including Wayne and Coleen Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, the Beckhams, Rio Ferdinand, Peter Crouch and Abbey Clancy.

But the moment she found out was far from glamorous,“At first my husband thought we’d won a lifetime supply of sausages — which he was genuinely thrilled about,” Emily explained. “Winning this house is more a case of bangers and cash!”

The couple, who live in Devon, were told the news while out buying tent pegs for their campervan. Emily, who’s worked in the same career for 25 years, says the win means she can finally cut back on work and spend more time with her husband, children and dogs.

The draw raised £3.7m for blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan, funding its Nottingham Cell Collection Centre for 18 months — enough for 1,850 lifesaving stem cell donations. Oscar-winner Olivia Colman CBE, a charity patron, backed the campaign in memory of her friend Pip.

“This has changed all our lives forever,” Emily said. “The only thing I’d won before was a bottle of orange squash at my kid’s school fair — now I’ve got a Premier League pad!”