TV dance man, 73, loses benefits

TV dance man, 73, loses benefits

Mr Bowers lost the benefit 11 weeks ago
A Leicestershire 73-year-old who wowed audiences by breakdancing on Britain's Got Talent has had his benefit stopped.

Fred Bowers said the allowance he received for a leg injury has been suspended while the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) investigates.

Mr Bowers, from Loughborough, said: \"I'm going to struggle on. They're not going to stop me from dancing.\"

A DWP spokesman said: \"We do investigate and take seriously all accusations of fraudulent claims.\"

Mr Bowers, who injured his leg during a wartime accident, said he was unable to walk more than a few hundred yards but this does not affect his ability to dance.

Comedy act

He said he is hopeful the DWP will eventually reinstate his benefits, believed to be about £70 a week, and allow him to make a career out of dancing.

He added: \"I've still got an actual disability and I can't walk very far but I can still dance. I use my head and back more while I'm dancing.

\"I'm a comedian while I am up on stage, it makes people laugh. I just want to make people happy.\"

Mr Bowers, who made the semi-final of the TV talent show, said he was disappointed not to be picked for the ongoing Britain's Got Talent theatre tour, which features the winners Diversity and Scottish singer Susan Boyle.

Upon initial reading it seems that the DWP have a valid case to stop his fraudulent-looking claim....
The more fraudulent claims that go undetected..the less there is for people who realy need help :ohmy:

tonypark wrote:

Upon initial reading it seems that the DWP have a valid case to stop his fraudulent-looking claim....
The more fraudulent claims that go undetected..the less there is for people who realy need help :ohmy:

I agree with Tony there are a lot of ppl getting benifits but can do a lot of things really disabled ppl can only dream of

I heard about this too, although I didn't actually see him dancing on tv, so perhaps I'm not in the best position to comment.

Not wanting to be specific to his case, I was horrified at the thought that anyone who is mobile enough to dance around on a regular basis believes they are entitled to benefits because they 'can't walk'... it took me about 6 months of persistance for me to get DLA because they'd never heard of my rare disease - even though I had a supporting letter from my doctors and consultants who said I'm going to have this condition for life and explained how it impacts my day-to-day living severely.

I wish I could dance around like that man! I think people like him are the reason it makes genuine claims so difficult.

bubbles wrote:

I heard about this too, although I didn't actually see him dancing on tv, so perhaps I'm not in the best position to comment.

Not wanting to be specific to his case, I was horrified at the thought that anyone who is mobile enough to dance around on a regular basis believes they are entitled to benefits because they 'can't walk'... it took me about 6 months of persistance for me to get DLA because they'd never heard of my rare disease - even though I had a supporting letter from my doctors and consultants who said I'm going to have this condition for life and explained how it impacts my day-to-day living severely.

I wish I could dance around like that man! I think people like him are the reason it makes genuine claims so difficult.

well said Bubbles xxx

These people are why genuine claims often take years.

www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2...fits-fraudsters.html

[I hope it's OK to post links on this forum]