£650,000 home to be sold for £60

The couple have lived in the house for 24 years

A £650,000 Georgian mansion has gone up for grabs for £60 after its owners decided to offer the house as a prize in an internet competition.

Alf and Kath Overy, of the Old Parsonage near Goole, East Yorkshire, put their home on the market last year.

But after it failed to sell for the £650,000 asking price, they decided to offer the 300-year-old Grade II listed building as a competition prize.

The couple said they wanted to "give everyone a chance" to buy the house.

'Change a life'

Mr Overy, 66, said: "We were staggered when the house went on the market for £650,000, because it cost us very little, but in 24 years we have restored it and of course put all modern conveniences in.

"We have the original woodwork and the beams which are nearly 300 years old."

Entrants have been challenged to look at a doctored photograph of the house and guess where a missing shadow should fall.

The couple say they have limited the number of entries to 25,000 and plan to donate some of the money raised by the competition to the International League for the Protection of Horses.

Mr Overy said he had been surprised by the number of entrants to the contest.

"We thought we'd give everyone a chance and the response has been that it's an unusual, good idea", he said.

"Whoever gets it for £60, it could change their lives completely."