News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A woman says she was driven to shoplifting and drug abuse after having thousands of pounds from her Universal Credit payments cut after missing an appointment the day after suffering a miscarriage .

Danielle John forgot to inform her work coaches about the miscarriage and later received a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions telling her that she would be sanctioned as a result.

The letter said: "You didn't come to a meeting with us [...] because of this, you'll lose some or all of your universal credit payment for a time.

"We call this being sanctioned."

The letter explained she would lose £10.40 every day for 229 days, a total of £2,381.60.

Have you got a story about struggling with Universal Credit? Email webnews@mirror.co.uk

(Image: Wales Online/Richard Swingler WS) (Image: Wales Online/Richard Swingler WS)

Danielle, 37, told Wales Online that the letter sparked a downward spiral that saw her falling back into drug use and becoming addicted to heroin after being clean for 15 years. She attempted to take her own life, was imprisoned for shoplifting after she was unable to pay her bills and suffered a further eight miscarriages.

The DWP has refused to reconsider the sanctions, even after Danielle's doctor contacted them to say she was "suffering from recurrent miscarriages" and "probably would not have been able to work at this time".

Danielle, from Trowbridge in Cardiff, said: "I lived a normal life before all of this happened. I trained to become a legal secretary and I was happy and working in bars across Cardiff. I had a car, a roof over my head, everything was fine.

"I was getting Universal Credit while I was working and I wasn't earning much, probably around £500-a-month. But everything changed when I had a miscarriage."

Danielle, who has polycystic ovary syndrome, felt a pain in her stomach while she was working on June 29, 2016.

She was three months pregnant, and went to visit the doctor the next day who told her she had miscarried.

(Image: Wales Online/Richard Swingler WS)

As she dealt with the awful news, she missed her appointment the next day at a job centre in Cardiff. Four months later, in November, she says her payments suddenly stopped.

She rang the DWP and was put through a "mandatory reconsideration". She was asked to provide medical evidence to support her claims and provided a GP letter, but a week later was informed the sanction was being upheld.

The DWP said the sanction was not the result of one missed appointment and that Danielle had missed eight appointments over five months.

Danielle acknowledged she missed these appointments but said the July 1, 2016 appointment that sparked the letter was the first one she missed.

In the letter, Danielle's GP states: "I can confirm that Miss John was suffering with recurrent miscarriages from August 2015 and until October 2016. At that time she was also attending the gynaecology department being investigated for this. She probably would not have been able to work at this time."

In 1999, when Danielle was a teenager, she moved to Dublin where she had a son but also became addicted to crack cocaine and heroin.

"It's the worst type of life you can get yourself involved in," she said.

"It's such a dark place that no one should ever be in and it's so hard to get out of. It's harder being a drug addict than it is having a normal job. Even though there are stereotypes, trust me: it's a much worse lifestyle."

She returned to Cardiff in 2012, aged 30. Her son is now 19 and studying in Dublin.

Danielle had been clean for 15 years, but the combination of her payments stopping and the heartbreak of her miscarriages tipped her over the edge and she became addicted to heroin again.

"I thought it was a life I had left behind forever," she said.

"I couldn't afford to pay my gas or electric at home, so I turned to shoplifting. I wasn't very good but someone offered me money for washing-up powder and it gave me the idea that this was how I could pay my bills.

"It got worse as people would start offering me drugs for items. It's a vicious cycle because you literally can't get out of it.

"I'd have days when I'd feel low and people would offer me a crack pipe just to get my confidence going."

After a string of miscarriages, Danielle and her partner separated. She spent Christmas alone and said this was her darkest period. With no money for bills, she sat home alone in the dark, crying and hungry. She attempted to take her own life.

(Image: Wales Online/Richard Swingler WS)

(Image: Wales Online/Richard Swingler WS)

"I didn't see the point in living anymore, the depression took over me," she said.

"I started to cut myself and began to bleed loads, but an ambulance arrived. After a few days I was released and it was back to normal again. People who I knew were sending me shopping to steal for them."

A year later, Danielle spent 11 weeks in prison after being caught shoplifting. But she says judges in court cited the fact her payments had been stopped and she was stealing to survive.

Danielle cares for her mum, who has spinal problems and arthritis in her hands. Her mum has helped get her life back on track and got her to attend support groups. Danielle has been clean since March, and wants to stay that way. She hopes to become a counsellor.

Danielle said she believes hundreds of other people across the country have gone through similar problems.

"There's so much support out there for anyone struggling. Since I put my story on social media, hundreds of people have been in touch to support me and there are groups who are dedicated to help you.

"My message would be to not go through this alone, reach out to people who can help you.

"The problem with the system is that there's no physical support so everyone just gets treated the same, there's no exception.

"My life wouldn't have gone that way if that sanction didn't happen. They destroyed 15 years of sobriety and nearly took my life."

A spokesperson for the DWP said: "Our job centre staff are experienced at supporting vulnerable people and when we know about their personal circumstances we can make sure we offer the right help.

"Sanctions are a last resort and when we are made aware - including retrospectively - of good reasons why appointments are missed, they will not be used.

"Universal Credit customers can keep in touch with their work coaches over the phone and via the online journal."

Figures released in December showed 68,136 people receive universal credit in Wales. By the end of the full roll-out, scheduled for 2023, it is estimated that more than 400,000 people in Wales will get the new benefit.