A VICTORIAN cottage in Hemingford Grey is being raffled at £25 a ticket. The winner could get the terrace house, called The Nutshell, for about the amount it would have been sold for when it was built in 1840. The two-bedroom, Grade II-listed home in Chur

A VICTORIAN cottage in Hemingford Grey is being raffled at £25 a ticket.

The winner could get the terrace house, called The Nutshell, for about the amount it would have been sold for when it was built in 1840.

The two-bedroom, Grade II-listed home in Church Street is being sold by a couple who do not wish to be named and who want someone to have a "life-changing" win.

The prize includes stamp duty and legal fees.

The house has been refurbished with a new kitchen and bathroom but has original working fireplaces and is in a conservation area in a private road.

It is owned by a young woman who wants to sell up and join her family in Spain.

She said: "I was told by so many people that it was a unique property that I wanted to sell it in a unique way.

"A friend of mine saw that a house had been raffled in New York State in a system they have over there called a house raffle.

"This means owning the home is open to anyone. They can buy a ticket for £25 and forget about it.

"We like the idea that this makes the home available to someone who would not otherwise be able to get on to the property ladder. It could also be someone's provision for their retirement because it could be let for £650 a month.

"Selling it this way means that I will get more than the £185,000 it has been valued at but it has taken a year to set up the competition."

The tickets can be bought on-line. According to British law, the contest must be run and overseen by solicitors and auditors and there has to be an element of skill.

Tickets are being sold on-line with a multiple choice question on the website asking people to name the monarch on the throne in Victorian England.

The competition is being promoted in the St Ives window of estate agents WellingtonWise.

INFORMATION: The raffle will run until December 23 or until a maximum 15,950 tickets have been sold. There will be a cash prize for a runner-up. If fewer than 15,000 tickets are sold, there will be one winner and one runner-up who will get a cash prize. To buy a ticket, log on to www.winmycottage.com