Woman in Essex who relies on car due to disability fears being cut off by fuel costs
They're struggling to keep up with the increasing cost of fuel
A person with disabilities from Essex has called on the government to increase benefits payments to help people with disabilities struggling with the increasing cost of fuel.
Earlier this week, it was announced the average price of petrol per litre increased by 1.6 pence to just over £1.82, as the cost of filling up a typical family-sized car with petrol went above £100 for the first time.
Jess Plant and her mum, from Canvey Island, both have disabilities. They don't have working mobility scooters, so can't walk, and say their only option is to drive: "The distance to our pharmacy to collect our prescriptions is 0.3 of a mile.
"Most people would be able to walk that, but for mum and me it's just impossible. That's also where the nearest bus stop is, so we can't use public transport either."
Like many others, they're now struggling to cover costs: "Filling our car up used to cost about £40 and the last time I did it, it cost £75.
"My mum and I are both on benefits. Mum's on state pension and PIP and I'm on ESA and PIP, which are obviously all fixed.
"We can't ask for an raise at work and I can't get any extra work, because my mum has cognitive issues, so she needs someone to be with her most of the time, so there's no way we can increase our income and we're totally reliant on the income the government gives us."
Jess says they're also making cutbacks but there's only so much they can do: "It's difficult. At the moment our washer-dryer is broken, so it's washing, but not drying. We need to do extra laundry due to our disabilities, but we're putting off buying a new one to cope with the day to day living costs...
"I also try and drive in the most fuel efficient way possible. We'll try and combine journeys, but sometimes that is impossible because we have a lot of appointments to get to - some weeks we might have three or four health appointments and we have to drive around to all of those...
"That's short term. In the longer term, I don't know how we'll cope."
Jess is now hoping the government will step in to help those with disabilities struggling with rising costs: "I'd like them to raise benefits in line with inflation as it is now, rather than as it was six months ago. That would be about a 10% increase.
"Tax cuts won't help us because they only benefit you if you earn enough to be taxed, which me and my mum don't. Neither do most disabled people dependent on benefits."