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A four-year-old girl faces homelessness along with her grandmother - because the government stopped her benefits because she was born overseas.

Gwendolyn Banks was born in America but moved to England with her parents at the age of five.

The grandmother, now aged 62, went to school in Birmingham and has worked for most of her life in the city.

But Mrs Banks, from Aston, now looks set to lose the home she has lived in since the age of 21 because she is not being classed as a UK citizen. Watch how she described her difficult position in the video above.

The row with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) began when she was told she needed to apply for Universal Credit.

She was previously receiving Employment Support Allowance (ESA) but contacted the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) because she required more financial help to support her four-year-old granddaughter, Sienna.

Banks cannot work because of ill health and is also a full-time carer for her ex-husband, reports the Mirror .

She became Sienna's legal guardian are her daughter Sinead died suddenly at the start of 2018.

But the DWP concluded that she was not entitled to benefits because she failed the Habitual Residency Test despite moving to Britain when she was just five years old and having lived in Birmingham since she was at school.

Banks in now struggling to survive on just £80 per week, compared to the £200 per week she was previously getting.

She is also no longer receiving Housing Benefit (around £80 per week towards her £90 rent bill) or help towards her council tax and still has to pay £13 Bedroom Tax.

"I could not believe what they were telling me," Banks said.

"I was told I needed to change from ESA to Universal Credit and then they close my claim because they cannot class me as a British Citizen.

"While I appeal this, I have limited money coming in and I can't afford to live.

"I was born in America but England is my home. I have no family I know in America and i don't even have an American accent, it's ridiculous."

Banks' 24-year-old daughter, Sinead, died suddenly in January this year after suffering a cardiac arrest.

"I am still trying to come to terms with the sudden loss of my daughter.

"And when I enquire for extra financial help to look after my granddaughter, they drop this bombshell on me."

Mrs Banks has not received her full benefits entitlement since the beginning of this month and is now in rent arrears, as a result. She has been summoned to court and told she is at risk of losing her home.

"As soon as my claim was closed, my benefits stopped," Banks added.

"So my arrears have built up and gone over the £1,000 limit, which means I could lose my home in a matter of weeks.

"I have lived here most of my life and I do not want to give up my home. Where will we live? I can't even afford to feed my granddaughter."

Banks's parents met in Ireland and moved to America for a brief period before bringing their young family to England. Banks has an American passport.

A DWP spokesperson said: “Ms Banks’ case is currently being reviewed by a specialist decision maker.

“People who have moved to the UK may be asked to provide certain documents when they make a new claim to benefits and this has not changed under Universal Credit.”