£22k bingo winner fears eviction after her benefits are stopped

A grandmother who won a £22,500 bingo jackpot has had her benefits stopped, leaving her worried about losing her home.

Jean Jones spent her winnings on a Walt Disney World holiday - her first in more than a decade - colouring books and a specialist chair for her arthritis.

But 63-year-old city council tenant says she is now at risk of losing her Birmingham home as most of her benefit payments were stopped following her win.

Officials says they have a "duty to taxpayers to make sure benefits go to people who need them".

Jean said: "Yes, I enjoyed it. I spent it on what I wanted, but I've provided a list of everything I bought."

Jean was receiving £543 in Universal Credit until last August.

Now her only benefits are £229-a-month in personal independence payments - but she says that sum does not cover her £326 monthly rent.

The Department for Work and Pensions told her she could reapply for Universal Credit six months after her payments were stopped, but she has been turned down.

A DWP spokesman 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."