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A Merseyside family were given their £26,000 annual benefits allowance in one lump sum - and went out and bought a raccoon.

Scott Gavin, 31, and wife Leanne, 26, from Kirkby, also snapped up a £950 bouncy slide and a PlayStation.

The scenes were all caught on camera for Channel 5’s new reality show, Big Benefits Handout, which airs next week.

Producers say it is a social experiment to see what families on benefits would do if their financial circumstances were changed.

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The families taking part sat down with a financial adviser to plan their long-term spending.

A team of experts also monitored their bank accounts to ensure they were not too reckless with the money.

The Gavins, who have four children, both gave up work several years ago to care for eight-year-old son Robert who suffers behavioural problems.

Just days after being handed the suitcase full of cash, the family spent their windfall on items they could not normally afford, such as a video game console.

They also bought a raccoon.

The couple said they wanted to invest some of the handouts in a reptile party company.

Scott said: “The type of business I’m looking at doing is reptile shows, educational shows for schools and colleges. I’d also go to parties.

“I could do with some giant millipedes, maybe some giant snails, giant Madagascan cockroaches, 12ft snakes, 6ft lizards and a nice iguana.”

A spokesman for the producer Dragonfly told the ECHO: “The specific scenes referenced depict a family celebrating the opportunity to stand on their own feet, get back to work and live independently of the state.

“The purchase of the raccoon is a direct investment in a start-up party business, whose aim is to provide children’s entertainment in the local area.”

The programme - which follows three families over a four-month period - has prompted some viewers to accuse it of exploiting the poor and encouraging benefits culture.

However producers insisted that it was a genuine social experiment.

And they said while the documentary was a ‘massive risk’ it was done sensitively.

The first episode will be broadcast at 9pm on Tuesday on Channel 5.

Read more Merseyside news here