Our neighbour scooped life-changing £3m Omaze mansion – but he still lives in his humble home three years on | The Sun

NEIGHBOURS of a lucky man who bagged himself a £3million Omaze mansion say he still lives next door – and remains humble.

Glen Elmy scooped the north Devon "James Bond-style" pad in 2021 – but abandoned the property just three days after the life-changing win.


The dad-of-five stayed rooted in his four-bedroom Walsall house, in the West Midlands, much to the surprise of locals.

He and wife Debbie have lived in the £230,000 home for the past 26 years, while raising Sam, 22, and Luke, 20, Laura, 33, Chris, 32, and Shelly, 29. 

One neighbour told The Sun Online: “Glen and Deb keep themselves to themselves and have continued living next door since winning the house.

"It is very quiet and peaceful here.

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"We had no idea about about his win until we saw all the publicity. He kept it very quiet.

“We were not aware of it, he didn't mention it.

“Then when I saw him gardening he bought it up, but only once then never spoke about it.

“He is still a foundry worker and I don’t think Deb works.

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“They are a lovely couple, smashing."

Another local said: “We have no idea what happened to the house, he is very secret squirrel about it, and I don't blame him, it is his private business.

“I never talk to him about it, I only see him out walking his dog.

Someone else revealed: “We know them to say hello to only and often see them out walking their dog. They seem very pleasant

"Good luck to them if they’ve won a new house but they haven't moved into it. They still live in the street opposite.”

One added: “They are a very private couple and never discuss the mansion they won, and we don’t ask."

It comes after Glen abandoned the mansion over fears it would crumble into the sea due to coastal erosion.

The five-bedroom Stealth House overlooking Combe Martin Bay hasn't seen a tenant for years.

It was reported the foundry worker handed back the keys just days after arriving – and demanded a cash payout instead.

'NOBODY WANTED IT'

Glen originally won the competition after paying £25 for a ticket in the TV draw, which was raising charity funds for the NSPCC's Childline.

He said at the time: "I’m totally gobsmacked – the only thing we’ve ever won before was three pounds at a bingo night on holiday.

"We absolutely love the house – if I could have designed one from scratch, it would look just like this.

"It’s like something from a Bond film."

He added: “My wife Debbie lost her father to Covid this year and our youngest son was made redundant last week, so winning this house is just what the family needed, it’s life changing for all of us.

“This house is so spectacular we’re going to enjoy our first family holiday for two years right here. I don’t think we’d find a better place anywhere else in the world!”

But a source has now been quoted as saying he "left after three days and that was the last we saw of him".

A neighbour of the mansion, not wanting to be named, said: "I never see anybody going in or out since the win.

"There is all sorts of speculation that it can't be insured because of how close it's been built to the sea and on the cliff edge.

"There is a problem with coastal erosion all along the coast here. There are signs around the beach warning about falling rocks."

According to the anonymous local, Stealth House used to be on the market for £2.5million "but nobody wanted it".

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Meanwhile, new reports suggest only three of Omaze's 14 raffle winners since the draws began in 2020 still live in the homes they won.

Ten have been sold and the other is being rented out to rich AirBNB customers, MailOnline reports.





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