Nanna, 63, 'forced to live on egg and chips' after £22k bingo win sees benefits axed
9 April 2019, 12:12 | Updated: 10 April 2019, 08:48
Jean Jones fears losing her home after the Department for Work and Pensions stopped her Universal Credit payments after her May windfall... which she says she spent on 'colouring books'.
A bingo-loving nanna had her benefits stopped when she scooped a £22,500 jackpot - and now fears she will be made HOMELESS.
Jean Jones, 63, won the bumper prize last May, but rather than budget the money she admits she "went mad", splurging on a Florida holiday, a new armchair and a haul of colouring books to keep her occupied in her West Midlands home.
Now - less than a year later - she is penniless and at risk of being made homeless.
She said: “I didn’t hear anything from the DWP until I came back from my holiday at the end of August and found out my benefits had been stopped.
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"I haven’t had any benefits since August last year.
"The DWP is saying I squandered the money just to get benefits - but I didn't.
"I bought colouring books because if I can’t go out that’s what I sit and do. It’s my hobby.
"I had one holiday and that was the first I’d had in 11 years.
"I bought a recliner chair for my health, as I have arthritis in my legs. I bought new stuff for the house, things I’ve never been able to replace as I haven’t had the money."
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DWP officials told her that she could reapply for Universal Credit in six months' time - but her application was denied.
Now Jean claims she is at risk of losing her council house as her £229-a-month personal independence payments - the only benefits she receives - doesn't cover her £326 rent.
She told The Sun that the DWP has accused her of giving away half the money to her niece, which she denies.
A DWP spokesperson said: “We have a duty to taxpayers to make sure benefits go to people who need them.
"If we believe a person has deliberately spent savings in order to be able to get more benefits, their claim might be denied."
Jean told the paper that she has been put on anti-depressants as she struggles to cope with the thought of being left homeless - and has had to ransack her cupboards to survive.
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She said: "I keep getting letters from the council saying they’re going to evict me because I can’t pay the rent.
"I’ve run out of food now and I don’t get my PIP for another week.
"I’m living on what’s in my cupboard. I’m living on egg and chips or tinned tomatoes.
“I can’t even go to a food bank because of my chronic diarrhoea. They don’t have food I’m able to eat.
"I have to walk everywhere as I have no money for buses.
“It’s been seven months, I just want my benefits back.”
