West Midlands residents who occupy Channel 4's Benefits Street react to Rachel Reeves' Budget

The programme - starring the likes of White Dee, Black Dee and Fungi -  followed the lives of benefit claimants and it was reported 90 per cent of residents were on welfare.

Rachel Reeves' plan was this week branded "a Budget for Benefits Street” by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch.

It included greater welfare spending and scrapping the two child benefit cap, which has been welcomed by many still residing on the street.

Dad-of-four Mohammed Freed, 48, who has children aged five, eight, ten and 12-years-old, said: "Extra money is always going to be a plus.

"I've got four kids, so that's not a problem at all, we wouldn't mind that. We're actually quite grateful for it, it's a welcome bonus.

"The problem is with our communities, we need education on how to use that money wisely. I work in a community centre and we see it a lot.

"People go to takeaways and spend £6 on burger and chips, but they've got to pay for six or seven meals. Our families aren't small. If you have extra money it's useful for us. We can hope they actually use it properly."

Divorced dad-of-four Ilyas Hussain, 49, said the extra cash will help his struggling ex-wife.

The market trader said: "It affects me, I've got four kids so it definitely helps.

"My wife has them at the moment as we've split, I get them at the weekend. But I know she has to work to be able to afford them.

"She's definitely happy with this. It comes into play in April, which is handy as they're all school ages. I think it's a great idea, it's quite hard at the moment for everyone. Any benefit will help us."

But Dorris Peynado, 100, who moved from Jamaica to Britain aged 17 to start a new life, said the street had "gone to the dogs" over the years and branded the cap removal "stupid".

She said: "I've got children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. The world is going mad with it. Spending thousands on kids like this.

"The street is no better. It's gone to the dogs. I'm the oldest resident, been here the longest, but it's horrible now.

"One mum, who lives in the area but wished to remain anonymous, said the Budget benefited those not in work and could lead to people having more children.

She said: "Ultimately it only benefits those who have loads of kids. The only difference is now we have to pay for all of them."It just gives people an excuse. They don't even need to work, just have more kids. We work to fund them, they get to keep having them. How is that fair on us?"

Another local said: "There's families on our street who just keep popping them out. You can't stop them, these people just keep having more.

"It's going benefit them, not me. I have kids, I only claim for two, my partner works. I work part-time."

Avtar Matharu, 83, a former BT worker, who lives nearby, said: "I think that up to two is OK, but you'll have to think about both sides.

"When you've got five or six children, you've got to think whether the government can afford it.

"It's a lot, it could be too much pressure on the government. I can accept up to two or three, but higher is too much.

"I think three should be the cap, beyond three is greedy. People produce these children willy nilly, they can't afford them. I worked hard to look after my five children, they're doing well now.

"I worked very hard and have three degrees. People need to realise this when they have six or seven children.

"Our child allowance was £2. On Benefit Street' only civil servants used to live there. It was the best road in the area.

"People are getting greedy. I pay £4,000 income tax at the moment, I can pay £500 more. But who else can afford it? The country is on its knees now. People don't realise."

Benefits Street - Where are they now

Dee Kelly - AKA White Dee - went on to appear on Celebrity Big Brother and made numerous other TV appearances after shooting to fame on the show.

The 52-year-old also set up the charity Birmingham Says No to Knife Crime and Youth Violence went on to open up a community space serving up food to the homeless in the Handsworth area of the city.

James Clarke - AKA Fungi - took his own life in 2019 aged 50 after struggling to cope with a cancer diagnosis while a documentary was being made about his life. He had battled booze and crack addiction for years.

Samora Roberts, AKA Black Dee was jailed for seven years in 2016, after being found guilty of having live ammunition and of possessing drugs. She was originally arrested in June 2013 when 38-calibre Smith & Wesson bullets were found in a shoe under a laundry basket at her home.

Sherrell Dillion, known as SB, managed to launch a modelling career while being a single mum and modelled at Paris fashion week and appeared in a film with Tom Cruise.

But her son Terrell Boyce went on to murder rival in a fight over an electric bike. He fatally stabbed Ronique Thomas, 33, in Birmingham in 2023 when he was just 17.