‘If it wasn’t for my kids, I might have killed myself. This system is just horrible.
'I waited nine weeks for universal credit. They told me they didn’t get the form they needed, so I sent it off again. Then they sent me another one to fill in, and it just carried on like that. It’s sorted now, but it took so, so long.
'For nine weeks I had to rely on my mum and some friends, just doing what I could to get by. It’s a nightmare and I’d rather be back in jail – really, I would.