A DISABLED man claims he has been left with just £1 a week to live off after his benefits were cut and a bid for extra housing funds was rejected.

Stephen Smith, who was diagnosed with fibromyalgia 20 years ago, a condition which causes hours of pain and leaves him practically housebound, has blamed errors in the benefits system for his dire financial situation.

Mr Smith, who lives in the Crook area of County Durham, has seen his Employment Support Allowance (ESA) cut by £30 a week to £71 after a review by the Government.

He is now appealing that decision claiming a series of errors in the review performed by a nurse led to the “unfair” cut, but has been warned it could take up to 12 months to resolve.

In the meantime he has also applied to Durham County Council for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) but that has been rejected.

Mr Smith said the council is still working on the basis of his ESA being £101 a week and they have under estimated how much he needs to spend on groceries.

He said: “Because of my illness I have a special diet that costs more but they have completely disregarded that.

“I can’t carry on living like this, I basically have £1 a week left after all my bills are paid, I have to make do on pennies and am not getting the support I need.

“I have three cans of food in the cupboard which will have to last me seven days.

“In their last letter they said my bid was being rejected because they needed more information, all I have done is supply them with information.

“I even have receipts from the council proving that I have given them the information they want but still nothing changes.

“I know there are thousands of other people like me, some who are even worse off, but we are being ignored.”

Don McLure, corporate director of resources at the council said he could not comment on Mr Smith’s claim but said DHP is a temporary payment made “when there is a short-fall between the housing benefit we are allowed to pay under the government’s scheme and the tenant’s rent”.

He said: “We consider all qualifying factors before making a decision on whether to grant the payment.”