Incapacity in Manchester

Karan Hobson in Manchester belatedly admitted cheating the benefits system of £15,000. (Actually she cheated taxpayers.) She claimed she struggled to get out of the bath, but she was snapped lifting a vacuum cleaner into her car on the way to one of her cleaning jobs, despite claiming that she could not walk more than 150 yards, and – because of a road accident – suffered severe pains in her back and had brain damage.

Who certified these false medical conditions?

One person commenting at the Manchester Evening News site excuses her because of the Iraq war. Another writes

As a cripple I am appalled by these benefit cheats. I worked all my life up to the age of 50 when I was brought down with an agressive form of muliple sclerosis two years ago. I only wish I could work as I have never claimed for anything and even now feel bad about claiming. Cheats give us all a bad name and should be made to pay back every penny they have been paid and then fined heavily on top of that. I would'nt be suprised if her car is a motability car complete with disabled badge. Yes I feel bitter, I don't like having to depend on others and find it hard to cope with being so helpless. Cheats are thieves.

Others say

It's getting absolutley ridiculous. Us hard working people should give it all up and live on benefits, they seem better of than us and we get a free makeover. The story does'nt even tell us if she has to pay it back or not. Fraud and theft and all she got is a curfew? What deterrant is that? Heavy hoover my ****.

More investigators need to be employed to stop these benefit cheats but as the prisons are full, where is the deterrant ? This scrounger should be forced to sell up to pay back what she fraudulently scrounged.

She stole £15,000 from taxpayers and has managed to avoid jail? This is a joke. She also dodged paying tax by failing to declare that she had a job.

This really send a great message to people who might consider swindling the system. I might do it myself - I woke up with a stiff neck this morning.

These brisk viewpoints deserve a hearing.

Manchester is one of 15 areas across Britain that will share in a £32m Deprived Areas Fund, set up by the DWP, says the paper. The latest figures show that nearly one in three working-age adults in the city (30.2 per cent) remain `economically inactive'. "And that means simply that, for whatever reason, they don't work."