'Dead' father must reappeal

DISABLED Tim Green has been told he will have to reappeal after his benefits were stopped – despite wrongly being declared dead.

Civil servants wrote to the 58-year-old's relatives to say he would no longer have to attend an appeal against a decision to take away his benefits because he 'had died'.

The letter was sent to Mr Green's shocked ex-wife Jane, who helps him fill out paperwork because he is partially blind.

But despite Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) apologising for the error, Mr Green has been told he must launch a new appeal because he no longer exists on Government computers.

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Mr Green, of Rowley Avenue, Chesterton, rang up to demand answers from the Department for Work and Pensions' when he was told they could not find him on the system.

He said: "It is bureaucracy gone wrong. First they tell me that I am dead and then when I try to sort it out I am told I don't exist.

"I have no idea what is going on but I am very angry about it because it is causing me a lot of stress."

The father-of-one, who suffers with hip, leg and shoulder problems, said: "I'm still going to appeal because it is ridiculous. I was told there was no trace of me. I couldn't believe what I was hearing."

Mr Green had been told he is fit enough to seek work and faces losing £40-a-week employment support allowance benefit.