martin oxborrow man ex-RAF pilot campaigner disability rights
Martin Oxborrow Rhydlewis 2 December 2012 An RAF veteran who suffers from diabetes and depression and is in remission from cancer has been told he will have his benefits removed if he is not actively looking for work. Martin Oxborrow, 60, served in the Falklands and in Ethiopia, but was forced to stop flying after he developed crippling anxiety attacks. He became seriously depressed – but worse was to come a few years later when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. But now he has been told that under brutal new benefits cuts, he will not be eligible for the incapacity benefit he has claimed for 15 years – unless he can prove he is seeking a job. The former pilot, from Rhydlewis near Llandysul in Ceredigion, was a C130 Hercules Captain, in charge of delivery flights across the globe for 17 years. But before he left the RAF however he suffered crippling anxiety and depression, developing a fear of flying. He had to be grounded, and was eventually discharged in 1997, and has since been on incapacity benefit. On his 60th birthday in May this year he received a letter saying his Employment and Support Allowance was being changed by the Department of Work and Pensions – meaning he would be placed in a “work group”. Read more: Wales Online #ixzz2DtL4hKEQ
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Keywords: campaigner, disability, disabled, male, man, martin, oxborrow, person, rights, sunday, uk, wales, welsh
