A RAFFLE which gave entrants chance to win a £500,000 house by buying a £10 ticket has been cancelled.

Robert and Avril Smith offered their four-bedroom Victorian property with a pool in Grosmont, near Whitby, as the prize for the competition, after they decided to move closer to their son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons in Harrogate.

They originally put the property up for sale but following the death of their daughter in 2015, decided they wanted to raise money for Cancer Research UK by giving away their house through a competition.

On Thursday, the competition website announced it had closed, "with sincere regret and upset", following an order from the Gambling Commission, which "deemed the competition a potential lottery and not a legal prize competition".

A statement from Mr Smith read: "We understand the disappointment to you all and can only apologise sincerely as well as offer a full refund.

"We had hoped to be in a position to offer the house as the prize or, alternatively, cash prizes in accordance with our terms and conditions. The Commission will not let us do either.

"As you will have seen my wife and I have been through a lot over the last three years and it was hoped that this would give us the break we need. Unfortunately, we are back to square one. This property is open to offers to purchase."

Ticket refunds are available at wayh.co.uk/signin