A COMPETITION in which a Poole woman offered her flat as the prize has culminated in disaster after receiving just 80 entries.

Shelly Jennings admitted she had ended up losing thousands in her bid to try to make money on her £220,000 Parkstone pad.

She dreamed up the idea of the £10-a-ticket competition after failing to sell her Balmoral Road flat on the market.

But despite extending the closing date into January, Shelly said her initiative had been undermined because people were suspicious about its validity.

“I’d like to thank all the people who did enter, but unfortunately most people seemed to think it was a scam,” she said.

“I’ve had my fingers well and truly burned.

“The only winner out of all this is my solicitor, who I’ve still had to pay my fees to.”

The competition’s terms and conditions dictated that a minimum number of entries had to be reached for the flat to be given away.

As the number fell well below the threshold, the prize now reverts to a cash prize taken from the entry money. Shelly said the £800 she had taken would still not even cover solicitors’ costs.

But she is dishing out a nominal £50 prize as a goodwill gesture to those who did enter.

“I wish I could give the flat to one of the people who entered, but at least £50 is a profit on their £10,” she said.

Shelly also insisted she would still be making a contribution to the Prince’s Trust, after advertising that she would give a cut of the entry money to the charity.

Valene Hiscock who, along with many of her friends and relatives, entered the competition said she had learned a lesson.

“It seemed very genuine but the organiser just seemed to let it die,” she said.

Ms Jennings said the competition winner would be contacted and their name published at winshellysflat.co.uk by the end of January.