A BUILDER from north Hampshire is offering punters the chance to own a Cornish dream home for just a £1 stake.

Trevor Perry, 53, has launched his own lottery competition to sell three houses in the north of the county that is the legendary home of King Arthur's Camelot.

Mr Perry, of Hazeley Lea, Hartley Wintney, built the homes, worth about £300,000 each, last summer when a plot of land went up for sale.

The houses are close to the sea in Poundstock, near Bude. One is a four-bedroomed property and the other two have three bedrooms.

However, after he was unsuccessful in selling the properties, he came up with the idea of the lottery.

Mr Perry said: "I guess you could say I had a eureka moment' when I came up with the idea. Some people thought I was mad but I reckon you would have to be mad not to enter this competition.

"I think it's a great opportunity. If you are prepared to spend a fiver on the lottery each week why wouldn't you buy a ticket to win a house?"

The father-of-two, who has owned a building firm for the past 30 years, decided to build the houses because of the low cost of land and soaring house prices in Cornwall.

Part of the money raised from the competition - run in association with phone giant NTL - will go to Children's Hospice South West's campaign to build a new hospice in Bristol.

If the competition is a success, Mr Perry plans to launch more lotteries.

He said: "This is an opportunity that I am never going to get again in my life. If it works this is a serious opportunity for me and definitely one that we could be doing again."

There will be three separate draws - one for each house - and payment is deducted from telephone bills of those calling the special number.

The winners of each of the three competitions will be drawn over successive weeks - on January 7, 14, and 21 - next year.

However, if a minimum of £400,000 per competition is not raised by the deadline, then the costs of the lottery will be subtracted from whatever total has been raised and the remainder divided among the three winners.

For more information, visit www.house4apound.tv

To enter each competition, you must answer a question correctly and calls are charged at £1 for each competition entered.

The hotline number is 0906 737 0001 or you can text your answer to 86633.