EXOTIC raccoon dogs are not being sold on Bolton Market, the council has said.

A video has been widely circulated on Facebook, claiming to show the animals being sold for £60 at a stall in Bolton Market yesterday.

It has been shared more than 400 times and people are being urged to contact the RSPCA to report it by the poster.

The video shows a number of the animals cramped into a small cage and appearing to be in some distress.

A number of commenters on the post say they have reported it to the RSPCA and Bolton Council.

However, Bolton Council has now moved to reassure people that the animals are not being sold at the market and the video was not shot there.

A spokesman said: "We are aware of a video circulating on Facebook which claims to show raccoons being sold on Bolton Market.

“This video was not shot at the market and we would like to reassure the public that raccoons are not being sold here.”

Raccoon dogs are native to Asia and can grow as long as 28 inches.

The RSPCA urges people not to keep them as pets as they are wild animals and launched a campaign earlier this year to make the sale of them illegal.

In May this year a lady in Lincolnshire called the RSPCA after she saw one of the animals in the garden.

An RSPCA spokesman confirmed that the video had been reported to them and that it is being looked into.

It is not yet clear where the video has surfaced and if it was filmed anywhere in Bolton.