A disabled mum is having to live off egg and chips and feels 'trapped' inside her house after Universal Credit left her on just £60-a-week.
Gillian Leader, 59, is living in a three-bedroom house in Birmingham - and says it is too big for her needs.
The mum-of-two and her husband are now living off the bare bones so they can scrape together the £400 monthly rent.
But she told Birmingham Live it is near impossible on a mere £578-a-month Universal Credit payment.
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Gillian - who suffers with angina, arthritis and diabetes - said: "We're left with £178 for the month.
"We've got other things to pay out, we have to pay electric, gas, we're not left with a lot to live on.
"We're living on about £60 a week for me and my husband. It's not really covering food, we're struggling. We're eating whatever we can.
"We've been living on egg and chips for the last week and that's not good for my diabeties."
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The disgruntled couple, who live with their 27-year-old son, are also paying bedroom tax since their daughter, 30, left home.
Mrs Leader added: "We've lived there since 2012, but when my daughter left home we were paying bedroom tax straight away, but we were on income support - so it wasn't too bad.
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"But now we've gone over to the Universal Credit in February, it's dramatically lowered the amount of money coming in.
"Now having to pay our own rent, they don't do income support anymore.
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"We were struggling before but it's got even worse now we're on Universal Credit.
The family have been back and forth to Birmingham City Council with their desperate pleas to move to a smaller bungalow suitable for Gillian's mobility issues.
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The move would mean Gillian would not have to pay for bedroom tax, the high-rent or maintenance on her in-house lift.
And as they have Band 1 priority, they were offered a suitable, two-bed bungalow in Percy Road Sparkbrook.
But it was "taken away" from them by a family who "needed it more".
A spokesperson for DWP, who manage Universal Credit, said: "They are on less than they were on income support because the components are different with Universal Credit.
"They are on less because they inherited a large amount and when that was whittled down, they claimed for Universal Credit. They also have a number of other incomes such as disability allowance and carers allowance.
"If they do move to a smaller property that would help them."
n response to the claims, Birmingham City Council said in extreme cases, a property can be withdrawn.
They added that as of last year, they now allow disabled tenants to bid on regular properties with the option of adaptations being implemented.
A statement from Birmingham City Council read: “With over 12,900 people on our housing waiting list and a national housing shortage currently in place, we advise that people bid proactively as we have a limited stock.
"However, we also recognise that allowing more flexibility would provide a greater number of people with the support they need.
"This is why a new process was introduced last year that allows anyone who requires an adapted property to bid for general properties that will then be adapted to meet their agreed needs.
“If an emergency situation transpires, it can sometimes be necessary to withdraw the property from the bidding cycle. This is only done in extreme circumstances when all other options have been explored.”
