AN accident victim who has suffered more than a year of excruciating pain has slammed a Benefit Agency ruling to send her back to work as 'unfair and diabolical'.

And she will no longer be entitled to incapacity benefit. Instead she can claim unemployment benefit which amounts to a weekly loss of more than £15.

Pauline Dodd, from Pingle Croft, Clayton-le-Woods underwent painful surgery to shorten a bone in her arm and to ease trapped nerves after she fell and broke both arms last February.

Regular check-ups from her GP left her with a string of sick notes, the most recent of which lasts to the end of July.

And even after physiotherapy and consultations with a bone specialist at the Royal Preston Hospital, Pauline will probably need a further operation.

But following an assessment the Benefits Agency adjudicator has ruled that Pauline, aged 49, must now go out and find a job.

Choking back the tears, Pauline explained: "The pain in my arms is unbearable, a constant ache, and sometimes tingling like pins and needles."

Husband Derek added: "She constantly breaks things, which is proving costly, especially with less money coming in."

Pauline sobbed: "Buttering bread, even carrying bags of crisps is excruciating. I can barely hold a pen or the telephone. What sort of job can I get if all I can do is sit there?

"I would love to go back to being a care assistant, a job I have loved for more than 20 years.

"I feel extremely bitter."

Now Pauline plans to put in an appeal against the decision. Gordon Gibson of Preston's Benefits Agency on London Road said: "Entitlement to incapacity benefit is decided by an independent adjudicating officer who considers all facts which includes medical opinion.

"Medical opinion can be sought from both the customer's doctor or benefit agency medical services. There is a right of appeal to an independent tribunal for customers who think the decision is wrong."

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