A benefit claimant has been found not guilty of benefit fraud, and told that he can continue to claim benefits, despite being pictured playing football having said that his sickle cell anaemia means that he is barely able to walk sometimes. The rare disorder can leave sufferers in considerable pain for periods lasting between one and five days, and 29 year old Ryan Wilson has told the benefits department that he is unable to walk 19ft on most days.
When applying for benefits, potential claimants must inform the benefits agencies of their disabilities. This means that they need to describe their condition as well as how it affects their daily lives. Among the information required, it is necessary to disclose the level of mobility that they suffer. Claimants will usually be asked what their mobility is like on a typical day, as well as what they are like on a typical day.
29 year old Ryan Wilson suffers from a rare disease called Sickle Cell Anaemia, which causes red cells to develop abnormally. This can lead to serious and considerable bouts of pain that typically last between one and five days. The pain can be so severe that the sufferer is unable to walk. The severity of the disease not only determines how bad the pain is, but how often the attacks are.
Wilson was filmed playing football despite his claim that he was unable to walk 19ft on most days. He was accused of a £50,000 benefit fraud, and as well as having his higher rate disability living allowance put on hold during the investigation, he faced the possibility of a custodial sentence.
Mr Wilson had been awarded the upper level of DLA in 2003, but when he told the benefits department that he was working a few hours a week as an injury rehabilitation professional with Bristol Rovers in 2011, an investigation was launched. Mr Wilson’s doctors convinced the judge that his condition varied from day to day and showed that he had presented at hospital 19 times between 2003 and 2011. Evidence from Sickle Cell specialists convinced the judge to order the jury to find Mr Wilson not guilty.