A man lost his life savings after he was wrongly denied benefits for 18 months when he underwent his fifth cardiac operation.

The 67-year-old, who asked not to be named, received an apology after being asked to go to an assessment for disability living allowance the day after he had a heart bypass.

The consultant engineer from Kingston was forced to stop work in 2009 because of his heart condition and it took him 18 months to secure the benefit money after being wrongly turned down.

He said: "All the savings that I had built up evaporated. I was relying on the help of friends and family to get through it.

“I have got a brick of a wife. She was absolutely brilliant. She went through a really hard time as at one point it looked more touch than go for me.”

The pensioner is one of dozens of disabled people who have overturned decisions to stop their benefits and he blamed the application process, which he said made his condition worse.

He said: "If you can stagger 50 yards then you are fit enough not to get it. It doesn’t matter how much pain you are in or how much medication you are taking from their perspective.

"The last thing I wanted was a battle. It was very easy to lose your temper. My heart rate would rocket and the next thing I knew was I was in the GP's."

Jeanette Roe has appealed twice in two years to win her £378 a month benefit back.

Her benefit was stopped when she applied for extra money to get a Motability car so she would not have to rely on her husband Alan Roe, 64.

The 59-year-old had both knees replaced and suffers from chronic inflammatory demyelinating poly, a disease that attacks nerves in the arms and legs, causing them to become inflamed and stop working.

The Chessington woman received the disability money until two years ago but said the benefit has now been stopped completely.

Mr Roe said: "She’s getting nothing, It just seems this is disgusting when we have worked all our lives and everything else. It’s taken away for no reason. She had no changes. In fact it’s got worse.”

The Government plans to reduce the DLA budget by 20 per cent and move claimants to a new benefit, called personal independence payment, from next year.

Disabled people with terminal illnesses can spend the last months of their lives without benefits they are entitled to, according to a claimant.

A 67-year-old who spent his life savings while he was forced to wait 18 months for his disability living allowance (DLA) said the process was too slow and he had met people who died before receiving money.

He said: "I feel sorry for anyone with a terminal diagnosis. Although you automatically get a DLA and blue badge I have know people who have died before they get it, it takes too long."

The pensioner said he understood the system needs to weed out people applying for the benefit who don’t need it but feels it could be run in a more efficiently way to ensure those who do are protected.

He said: "The people that have got problems are probably the biggest ones that want it sorted out and want the free loaders out because if they sort that people with genuine problems will get a better deal."

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