A PRIZE draw to own a one-bed property in Pateley Bridge, courtesy of the owners of Stump Cross Caverns, is still up for grabs.

Lisa Bowerman set up the fundraiser earlier this year to raise £200,000 to cover the cost of repairs to the cave system so it remains a tourist attraction for many years.

The £130,000 one-bed apartment can be won for as little as £10 by one lucky ticket holder.

The prize draw is the latest crowd funding appeal launched by the caverns owners to pay for essential maintenance work. The draw follows a similar appeal earlier this year when a £50,000 campervan was raffled which helped see the family business continue during the Covid lockdown.

The small family run business, open to the public since its discovery by lead miners in 1860, has been hit hard by loc down closures and social distancing restrictions as visitor numbers dropped from 60,000 to just 15,000 earlier in the year.

A 1,000 cave step challenge, which saw its owners walk the equivalent of climbing up and down the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world 44 times have all been part of their attempt to survive, having raised £70,000.

Supporters can pledge as little as £10 to win the family-owned ground floor apartment located in the heart of Pateley Bridge. The lucky winner will be mortgage free with no stamp duty or conveyancing fees to pay. Council tax payments will also be covered for the rest of the current tax year.

Lisa Bowerman, owner of the ancient limestone caves, formed over 500,000 years ago said: Having to sell another of our personal possessions is heart breaking, but an unsuccessful bid for government funding and forced closures have seen ticket sales plummet, leaving us with losses of more than £500,000. We just haven’t had the income to cover maintenance and reinvest in the future of the caves.”

The fundraiser currently stands at just over £50,000 and will continue until ticket sales total £200,00.

To enter the prize draw go to: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/win-a-home-pateley-bridge