AN ITALIAN villa in the heart of northern Tuscany is being raffled off by a Poole couple – with £50,000 of the proceeds being donated to a children's charity.

The fully furnished £400,000 detached villa has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a private swimming pool and large landscaped garden.

It could be yours for the price of a £25 ticket.

It is being raffled by Jon and Annmarie Nurse, who live in Poole but spend up to six months a year in Italy.

Jon said: "This could be a truly life-changing opportunity to have your very own Tuscan retreat with a beautiful private pool – and it’s yours to do what you want with it.

“You can live it in and enjoy it - imagine sitting in a nearby piazza sipping an Aperol and sampling the amazing food you get in the traditional restaurants.

"Alternatively, you could rent this home out as a holiday home, or even sell it to give you a great nest egg.

“The funds generated from this sale will be put to good use – we know there’s a shortage of good accommodation in the UK so we want to get involved and improve situations for people that need it.

"A stable and nice home should be the cornerstone for anyone and any family – it is the building block that makes society a better place to live.”

Tickets are limited to 20,000 and the winner gets the house, all transfer taxes and legal fees covered, plus flights to Italy (within Europe) with car hire and accommodation to sign a transfer of ownership.

When people purchase a ticket they get a unique URL that can be shared online to encourage others to enter the draw. Whoever's URL gets the most entries will also win a £10,000 cash prize, or £5,000 if there are tied winners. If the number of entries sold is less than 20,000, the couple will not award the URL prize.

The villa, at Garfagnana, took eight years to be renovated by Jon and Annemarie.

They will also be donating £50,000 of the proceeds to The Children's Society.

Pippa Lock, from The Children's Society, said: "We're delighted Win Houses In Italy has chosen to support The Children's Society. All paid entries will help in our quest to reach £50,000, which will enable the charity to provide a lifeline to vulnerable young people across the country.

"Wishing you the best of luck when entering the draw."

Tickets are on sale at www.winhousesinitaly.com