.
.
.
Why work when
I can get £42,000
in benefits
a year
AND drive a
Mercedes?
.
The Davey family’s
£815-a-week state
handouts pay for a
four-bedroom home,
top-of-the-range mod
cons and two vehicles
including a Mercedes
people carrier.
Father-of-seven Peter
gave up work because
he could make more
living on benefits.
.
.
Yet he and his wife
Claire are still not
happy with their lot.
With an eighth child on the way,
they are demanding a bigger house,
courtesy of the taxpayer.
It’s really hard,’
said Mrs Davey,
29,
who is seven months’ pregnant.
‘We can’t afford holidays and
I don’t want my kids living on
a council estate and struggling
like I have.
‘The price of living is going up
but benefits are going down.
My carer’s allowance is only
going up by 80p this year and
petrol is so expensive now,
I’m worried how we’ll cope.
‘We’re still waiting
for somewhere bigger.’
.
.
Mrs Davey has never had
a full-time job while her
35-year-old husband gave
up his post in administration
nine years ago after realising
they would be better off living
on the state.
At their semi on
the Isle of Anglesey,
the family have a 42in
flatscreen television in the
living room with Sky TV
at £50 a month,
a Wii games console,
three Nintendo DS machines
and a computer –
not to mention
four mobile phones.
With their income of
more than £42,000 a year,
they run an 11-seater minibus
and the seven-seat automatic
Mercedes.
But according to the
Daveys they have
nothing to be thankful
for.
‘It doesn’t bother me
that taxpayers are
paying for me to have
a large family,’
added Mrs Davey.
‘We couldn’t afford to
care for our children
without benefits,
but as long as they have
everything they need,
I don’t think I’m selfish.
‘Most of the parents at
our kids’ school are
on benefits.’
She added:
‘I don’t feel bad about
being subsidised by
people who are working.
I’m just working with
the system that’s there.
‘If the government wants
to give me money, I’m
happy to take it.
We get what
we’re entitled to.
I don’t put in anything
because I don’t pay taxes,
but if I could work I would.’
The couple met in
a pub 13 years ago.
A year later,
at the age of 17,
Mrs Davey gave
birth to Jessica,
now 12.
She was followed by Jade,
ten,
Jamie-Anne,
eight,
Harriet,
six,
Adele,
four,
the couple’s only son Tie,
three,
and Mercedes,
two.
.
.
‘It cost too much to
carrying on working as
we were actually better
off unemployed,’
said Mr Davey.
In addition to income support,
housing benefit,
child tax credits and
a council tax discount,
the couple receive carer’s
allowance and disability
living allowance for Tie,
who suffers from a
severe skin disorder.
Despite filing for bankruptcy
18 months ago after racking
up £20,000 of debt on mail
order catalogues they still
insist on splashing out on
four presents per child at
birthdays and last Christmas
spent £2,000 on gifts alone.
.
.
‘Santa is always
generous in our house,’
said Mrs Davey,
who once applied to join
the police but was
turned down.
She insists her husband
would do any job ‘as long
as we could still afford the
lifestyle we have now’.
Mrs Davey,
who spends £160
a week at Tesco,
says she does not
intend to stop at
eight children.
Her target is 14.
And she adds:
‘I’ve always
wanted a big family -
no one can tell me
how many kids I can
have whether I’m
working or not.’
The full feature appears in
this week’s Closer magazine,
on sale now.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
