A DISABLED man who had his benefits axed says he would be dead or on the streets if it were not for the kindness of his elderly grandparents.

Peter Green had his incapacity benefit stopped after he was made to do exercises at his local JobCentre to prove he was fit enough to work.

Mr Green, aged 26, of Tetbury Drive, Warndon, was made to walk, sit down and bend down to assess his general health.

His benefits were then slashed from £192 per fortnight, which included incapacity benefit and disability living allowance, to £34 a fortnight, for disability living allowance only, as a result of the medical test.

Mr Green said: "If it wasn't for my grandparents, I would be on the streets or I could have killed myself. I'm one of the lucky ones."

He told JobCentre staff that he had lost 20 per cent of his lung capacity due to childhood infection and suffered severe asthma attacks, preventing him from doing physical work.

He told them he cannot read or write due to severe learning difficulties, making him incapable of many other jobs.

Mr Green, who also has speech problems, said he is now forced to rely on his elderly grandparents - 83-year-old Dennis Green and his 78-year-old wife Evelyn -to support him.

His grandfather said: "He's definitely been let down but I won't let the lad starve."

Between them the couple take home about £142 a week in state pension. Warndon councillor Pam Clayton, who has been helping the family, said the JobCentre should provide training to find a job he is able to do, especially as he is "willing to work".

She said: "It's down to saintly grandparents that people like Peter survive. He has been seriously let down by the system."

Coun Clayton has helped the family lodge an appeal against the decision.

A spokesperson from the Department for Work and Pensions said anyone claiming incapacity benefit has to have a personal capability assessment.

She said: "Every claim is judged on its own individual circumstances and decisions are made by considering all the evidence and applying the law.

"Our overriding goal is to give people independence. We are transforming the support available to help people with health conditions or disabilities find work, focusing on what people can do, not what they can't."