Benefits row dad takes his own life and is found dead in his flat by his fiancee
8 May 2013 09:49
IAIN Hodge's family say the 30-year-old had been left without money by the Benefits Agency for 10 weeks and had just taken out a mortgage with his fiancee Vicki.
Iain Hodge Iain Hodge
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A JOBLESS father has taken his own life following a battle with benefits bosses, his heartbroken family revealed last night.
Iain Hodge, 30, committed suicide at the flat he shared with fiancee Vicki Pollock.
Vicki, 28, discovered his body when she got up in the morning.
She called the emergency services but there was nothing that could be done for the dad of one from East Kilbride.
His dad Willie said Iain had seemed fine hours earlier.
Willie told our sister paper the East Kilbride News that Iain, who had a serious blood disorder, had been left without money by the Benefits Agency for 10 weeks.
He said: “He and Vicki had just taken out a mortgage on a new flat, his illness was getting him down and he was involved in an ongoing battle with the Benefits Agency.
“He had not received any cash from them for 10 weeks, despite being signed off as unfit to work by the doctor. He was last seen by his GP just two weeks ago.
“Although he wasn’t a lad who cared about money, he worried about being dependent on others.
“He had a little savings but he and Vicki had just moved into their flat and he hoped to spend the money he had on making it right for them.”
Iain was a landscape gardener with South Lanarkshire Council when he fell seriously ill in 2009.
He was discovered to have two deep vein thromboses in his legs and had to have his big toe amputated.
Tests revealed he had blood clots in both lungs. He was diagnosed with Hughes syndrome, a life-threatening condition often referred to as sticky blood.
Iain was put on warfarin, which thins the blood, for the rest of his life. It meant he could not do any hard physical work.
He also suffered horrendous headaches and frequent bouts of illness.
He was hoping his condition would stabilise enough to let him get a job or to go to college.
Iain died in the early hours of Saturday, April 27.
His funeral is this Friday at 4pm at South Lanarkshire Crematorium in Blantyre. It will have a rock ‘n’ roll theme to mark his love of music.
