Rich House Poor House mum who works as a bin woman left horrified when her kids demand trainers and PlayStation as they swap their weekly £113 budget for £1,661
A MUM who works as a bin woman was left horrified when her kids demanded a lavish shopping trip after she swapped her £113 weekly budget with a family who have £1,661 to spend.
Sharron Webb, 46, lives with her oldest son Marcus and younger kids Andre and Kamesha in a three-bedroom maisonette in Walthamstow, London.
In contrast, Mark and Claire Heasman and their two kids Jake and Kez live in a large farmhouse on the border of Essex and Suffolk.
Their home has six bedrooms, five bathrooms, a tennis court, swimming pool and six acres of land, with their huge weekly budget meaning they rarely think about money.
The two families swapped lives for a week for Channel 5 show Rich House, Poor House, and it was the impact of the cash on her youngest children which affected Sharron the most.
The family treated themselves to some new trainers, coats and hair straighteners during one trip to the supermarket, but Andre and Kamesha wanted to spend more.
Admitting she was shocked by their behaviour, Sharron said: “When you’re asking for more trainers and PlayStations… they’re not necessary stuff. Do you see what I mean?
“You were brought up to know the value of money and not to waste it. You have to work hard for what you want. Do you understand?”
She later added to camera: “To see them, ‘Can I have this, can I have that?’ It’s just a bit shocking for me.”
Sharron’s everyday life sees her getting up at 4.30am to work on the bins.
Marcus also works in waste management, and he has to sleep on the sofa at their flat as there aren’t enough beds.
“Money is tight at the moment, I don’t know how I actually get by at the moment,” Sharron said.
Living in the Heasman’s huge home, and seeing their £315 weekly food shopping delivered, was eye-opening for the mum-of-three.
“This morning when I woke up and I looked outside. I looked around and I thought, ‘Do you know what? This is going to be something that I hope to achieve,” she said.
“Probably not on this scale but I’d like to live in a house again.
“Having stayed at the farm house and seen the way of life, it’s quite and peaceful.
“So just find out about the houses and do a little more exploring, how much it would cost for a three bedroom house down here to rent. If it’s feasible. I am looking for a proper life change for the kids as well as myself.”
Marcus was amazed by the way the other family lived – with their pet chickens a source of amazement.
“The closest I’ve been a chicken is in the chicken shop,” he laughed.
“I might cut down on the chicken after being around these lot. They’re making me feel bad.”
For Sharron, it was the sense of safety in the country which was most affecting.
“[In Walthamstow,] there was a time where Andre went to the park by himself and I kept looking out of the window just to check he was OK,” she said.
“And then I saw him being dragged by another child.
“I ran down to the park and he was getting attacked. Since that day I’ve never let him go back on his own so a lot of times Andre is inside and he’s bored, he’s got nothing to do.
“But it’s not safe for him to go outside.”
It was something echoed by Mark and Claire when they saw a notice in a shop window warning about knife sales.
“If people are wondering around with knives, I don’t think we want Kez and Jake around here,” Mark said.
“I think you’d be a bit more wary about letting your kids out.
“Even sending them down to the shop for a pint of milk or a loaf of bread, how safe was that to do? You’d have to make that call every time. It’d be a different type of childhood.”
It wasn’t all hard though. For one thing, the Heasmans enjoyed living in closer proximity to each other as it forced them to spend time together.
For the Webbs, seeing how another family lived left them desperate for change.
Marcus said: “That experience made me know I want and need to live a better life. To work as hard as possible for a better life.”
Previous episodes have seen a mum-of-four swapping her council house for a millionaire’s mansion, while viewers in tears when one dad treated his son to new football boots.
Rich House, Poor House airs on Channel 5 on Thursdays at 9pm