'I can't pay for mum's funeral and the DWP make me want to give up'

A woman who can’t afford to pay for her mum’s funeral after losing her job as an electrical engineer has spoken of her desperation.

Siobhan Demetriades is struggling to raise the £2,300 she owes a funeral home after burying her mum earlier this month. Bridget Gibson was just 54-years-old when died following a battle with lung cancer in April.

Sadly, Bridget did not have life insurance or a funeral plan, leaving only Siobhan to pay for the service. The 32-year-old, from Whalley Range, currently has no way of covering the costs – and is desperately hoping Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) can help her with funding.

“Since my mum passed, I haven’t been able to grieve properly,” she said as she became emotional. “They’re [the DWP] are making me feel like I want to give up.

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“I’m not getting any help. Everything they have asked me to do, I’m doing and getting rejected. They’ve told me to go on different benefits but I don’t qualify for them.

“My mum was diagnosed terminally ill with lung cancer and a brain tumour which turned cancerous. She was placed on end-of-life treatment. I visited mum every day to make sure she knew someone was with her so she never felt alone but most of all felt loved.”

As her mother’s condition worsened, Siobhan struggled to concentrate at work and unfortunately lost her job as an electrical engineer. Just months before Bridget’s death, Siobhan also discovered she was pregnant and tragically suffered a miscarriage.

“I couldn’t concentrate wiring stuff up at work as an electrical engineer,” she continued. “I would either electrocute myself or send out a unit that wasn’t working properly and I was always