A FAMILY who are among the richest ten per cent in Britain traded in their luxury listed home to experience life on the breadline in an East end flat.

The Heasman family, who live in a farmhouse in Ardleigh, agreed to appear in Channel 5’s Rich House, Poor House to find out if money really does bring happiness.

Mum and dad Claire and Mark and children Jake, 14, and Kez, 15, are more acquainted with a weekly budget of £1,661 at their country home which sits in six acres of land and boasts five bathrooms, a tennis court and a swimming pool.

They traded it in to spend a week in a cramped flat belonging to single mum-of-three Sharron Webb who lives in Walthamstow, east London.

Among the stark contrasts the Heasmans faced were being forced to eat tinned chilli con carne for dinner due to their tight food shopping budget and spending their evenings huddled around a small TV.

Meanwhile Mrs Webb’s family, who include children Andre,11, Kamesha,16, and Marcus, 29, experienced a plush meal out at Colchester’s Memoirs restaurant and blew cash on treats such as new clothes and hair styles.

Mr Heasman, 53, and who is the chief executive of the Ormiston Families charity, said his family learned “how privileged and fortunate” they are.

He added: “Living in a built up area was a different life to living in the countryside.

“We appreciated even more our happiness doesn’t come from money and we were just as happy there that week as we are here.

“We had a different style of life but we were happy.”

Mr Heasman, whose charity provides support to children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, admitted the family took a risk in agreeing to do the programme which exposed their wealth.

But he said he was pleased with the reaction.

“Most people who saw it and know us said we came across as down to Earth.”

“The most poignant thing for us was we were trying to work out where all the family slept and we realised the lad Marcus slept on the sofa and had been for a year – that was very sobering,” he added.

Mrs Heasman, 43, works as a Forest School teacher while the couple’s children attend Colchester Royal Grammar School and Colchester County High School for Girls.

The family are also launching a business from their farm offering functions and camping .

The families who took part have been asked by programme makers not to keep in touch for now as it is thought they are planning to make a reunion edition of the show.

Since filming in December, Mrs Webb, who worked as a bin woman, has revealed she is looking to move to Colchester.

She told the Sun Online: “I’ve just found out that you have to be a resident of Colchester for more than two years before you can go on the council list so I would have to rent privately.

“I would have to find a job there and find a month’s rent and deposit to put down – about £1,000 – and then be able to maintain my rent payments.

“But I’ve already found my house down there.

“It’s similar to the one we were staying in but on a much smaller scale and it has a bit of land around the house.

“It’s actually being rented at the moment but I spoke to the lady in the estate agents in January and she said ‘Keep checking in with us.’”

Mrs Webb, who is undergoing tests for cancer, added: “I always look on the positive side and this experience has made me want to achieve more.”