A woman raffling her £250,000 home to raise money for a children's charity has had more than 1,000 entries in the first two weeks.

Entrants pay £5 and have to describe in no more than 25 words why they deserve to win the house. Owner Ursula Dowd, 45, says she has had some very bizarre responses.

She is determined to make sure the three-bedroom home goes to someone deserving as well as giving ten per cent of the money raised to youth charity ChildLine.

She said: "The key to this is I wanted to help promote ChildLine. I was going to sell my house and thought how cool and wonderful it would be to do something that helped somebody else as well.

"I had to go through a legal process because you should not be able to raffle a home - it's against gaming laws.

"It has to be a game of skill, not one where you just fill in a box. There has to be an element of thought.

"We've had all sorts of reasons sent in since we started this two weeks ago.

"An American thought he should win because he loved bangers and mash and the house would be a good way to get to the UK."

An independent panel of judges will pick the winner of the newly-built house in Billingshurst and solicitors and accountants will monitor the competition.

Mrs Dowd moved into the house in Luxford Way 18 months ago with her 14-year-old daughter Larissa but has since got a job setting up Europe's first digital film studios in Wiltshire and has to move.

She will pay the donation to ChildLine and the administration costs, totalling £75,000.

She said: "That's the decision I have taken. This is something I want to do. I've been fairly successful in the past few years and I want to do something worthwhile.

"Sometimes kids have to ring ChildLine several times to get through to an adviser because the charity cannot raise enough finance."

Of the 1,000 entries already received, Mrs Dowd said: "Some write poems, some write funny and some write really sad.

"A divorced father said something to the effect of how good it would be to have a house with more than one bedroom, so he could keep his kids overnight rather than having to get them back the same day.

"It's difficult to pick the best one. That's where the jury comes in. Different people look for different things. The winner might be someone who makes you laugh or someone who makes you cry."

The deadline for the competition is midnight on July 31, after which the jury will decide the winner.

If the target amount is not reached, the winner will receive the money raised minus ten per cent for ChildLine and 20 per cent for administration costs.

ChildLine spokeswoman Rebecca Stevens said: "Currently, it costs £32 to counsel a child - all the money raised from this venture will help ChildLine London and South-East to answer more calls from local children who need us."

Mrs Dowd is not the first to sell her home for charity. Doreen McLaren, of Tillington, near Petworth, decided to raffle her £750,000 home in March.

Debilitating Hughes syndrome plagued Mrs McLaren for eight years before she discovered the cause of her migraines, dizzy spells and aching muscles while watching TV documentary City Hospital.

The show featured the condition and Mrs McLaren wanted to raise awareness of it by raffling the luxury converted barn.

She and her husband Mark Watson have sold 290 £100 tickets and intend to keep their offer open until December, with £2 from each ticket going to the Hughes Syndrome Foundation.

More information about Mrs Dowd's competition is available at www.hometowin.com or by calling Maire Hanley on 07821 165956.