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An OAP who killed herself after a pension bungle left her with just £5 in the bank was "an extremely proud lady who obviously did not want to cause a fuss or be a burden", said her heartbroken son.

Joy Worrall, 81, had her state pension frozen after a mistake by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) .

The mix-up meant she had no money coming in but, instead of asking her family for help, proud Joy plundered her £5,000 life savings, reports Mirror Online

When she was down to her last £5, she threw herself into a 40ft deep quarry.

After an inquest on Thursday, her son Ben Worrall accused the DWP of being “guilty of a failure of duty of care”.

The inquest heard that Mr Worrall, who spoke to his mum up to four times a week, visited her cottage in November and found she was missing.

After a police search was launched, her body was found at the quarry near her home in Rhes-y-Cae in Flintshire .

It later emerged that Joy, a divorcee who had been receiving a state pension and pension credits, told the DWP in 2014 that she had received an inheritance.

She was assured it would not affect her pension but, in 2017, “action was taken to suspend her pension credit”.

Instead of her state pension continuing while the credits were reviewed, “an administrative error” led to all her payments being stopped.

Suzanne Mitchelson, the DWP’s complaints resolution manager, admitted the two pensions should have been “decombined” and her basic pension continued.

But, in a letter to Mr Worrall, she wrote: “I am sorry to say that, due to an administrative error, this did not happen.”

At the inquest in Ruthin , Mrs Worrall’s son said she had only £5 in her account on her death, having spent all her £5,000 savings.

Recording a conclusion of suicide, John Gittins, coroner for North Wales East and Central, said it was important that he heard the background, but added: “It would be inappropriate for me to comment further.”

After the hearing, Mr Worrall said: “My mother was a proud woman who was simply left without any capital.

"I feel we have been let down by the DWP who have failed in their duty of care.

"It’s a disgrace how this can happen in modern society and what concerns me is that this could happen to someone else."

He added: "The pain will never go away - I have lost my mum who was in a fit and healthy state.

"The DWP has a case to answer. There is some element of duty of care they are meant to perform for vulnerable people in society.

(Image: Google)

"That has not been carried out by their own admission.

"I don't blame the people at the DWP - people make mistakes.

"But they have a duty of care to put a system in place where this cannot happen.

"My mum was an extremely proud lady who obviously did not want to cause a fuss or be a burden.

"She could not tell her son and best friend that she had some issues with money. She felt uncomfortable about taking money from the state anyway.

"She was a loving grandmother to my son Max. But how can you explain to a child what has happened?"

A DWP spokesman said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Mrs Worrall.

"We apologise unreservedly to Mrs Worrall’s family for the error that led to her pension payments being stopped and pledge to learn the lessons.”