A SERIOUSLY ill woman who was told she did not qualify for disability benefits has won her battle to have them restored.

The News & Star reported last week that 48-year-old Anna Yellop, of Carlisle, had her application for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) rejected by the Department for Work and Pensions.

This decision came in spite of her being partially paralysed as a result of scarring on her brain tissue.

Previously in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA), she was automatically entered for a PIP application as part of a government phase-out of DLA.

Relying on a wheelchair to move around and daily doses of morphine to cope with chronic pain, Anna and her husband Andy - her full-time carer - were shocked to learn that the DWP had rejected her PIP application.

But yesterday, Anna received confirmation that the original decision had been overturned.

“It’s amazing, I’m so relieved”, Anna said. “I just feel like they’ve given me my life back.”

Andy was equally relieved. “I just can’t explain the stress over the last few weeks,” he told the News & Star.

“We wanted to thank you for your input. The paper must have had some clout.”

The Mandatory Reconsideration decision received by Anna yesterday is a second chance PIP applicants have for their case to be reviewed.

However, the most recent government statistics show that 77 per cent of former DLA recipients are knocked back at this stage in their PIP application.

Tribunals, the final stage at which a decision could change, can take months to be heard.

Anna and Andy feel lucky that they were spared the ordeal of waiting for a tribunal hearing.

“I feel for anyone who’s going through this now,” said Anna.

“I am saying to everyone who’s going through what we’ve been through.

“Please fight for your money and do what I’ve done.”

A DWP spokesman reiterated that all unsuccessful PIP applicants can ask for a review “straight away”.