CHRISTMAS arrived early for a lucky Matchborough grandmother, who won a cash prize after entering a competition to win a house.

Chris Griffiths scooped more than £6,000 on the Redditch-based win-this-house competition.

The raffle gave entrants the chance to win a £250,000 house in Riverside, Studley for a £25 stake, while returning the property's full asking price to its vendor and covering all costs.

The idea was the brainchild of Redditch couple Matt and Rachael Speirs, under the company Arrow Competitions, to make the home-buying process pain-free for both vendors and potential buyers.

Entrants could either register online or buy a ticket at one of 40 outlets.

However, after only selling 494 of the required 12,000 tickets within the allotted three-month period, half of the cash was put into a prize draw.

And Mrs Griffiths was one of five finalists out of the hat who was asked to complete a deciding tiebreaker.

"I still can't believe my luck," said the mum of six and grandmother of 10.

"I would like to thank Mr and Mrs Speirs for setting up Arrow Competitions, which gave me the opportunity to enter, and subsequently become the winner. Now thanks to this very welcome bit of luck, Christmas will be lovely."

The rest of the cash was divided between the vendor and to cover Mr and Mrs Speirs' costs.

And even though the property did not sell this time, the couple has vowed to continue with the idea, as they believe it is a viable alternative to the traditional estate agents sales route.

Mr Speirs said: "During this competition, we have more than 30 vendors contact us, interested in selling their property this way. It's ideal for vendors as they have no commission to pay, they receive the asking price for their home, have no buyers chain to worry about, surveys or the endless house viewings to contend with."