An Evri delivery driver who falsely claimed almost a quarter of a million pounds in benefits by claiming he couldn't bend over has been jailed.
Paul Churchman told the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) he could barely walk without being in 'agonising pain', and chalked up £235,000 of benefits alongside his wife Gemma, whom he roped into the scam.
But Maidstone Crown Court heard that he was hauling parcels as a self-employed courier with Evri, formerly Hermes, at the same time - for which he was paid £403,000 over 11 years, or £36,000 a year.
Between January 2013 and January 2024 Churchman and his wife received £105,786 of housing benefit, £45,411 of income support and £38,404 in Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
They also claimed £24,562 of Universal Credit, £9,589 in Jobseekers' Allowance and £8,081 in Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), and received a council tax reduction of £3,340.
