A mum-of-four has claimed benefits for 20 years – because she claims to be allergic to shoes.

Tracy Kenny has received employment support allowance for two decades, pocketing in the region of £100,000.

But she has now been told that her handouts will be stopped after government officials ruled she was fit to work.

Tracy, 45, says it is impossible for her to hold down a job because of her painful allergies to rubber, glue, nickel and metal which she insists leave her skin blistered and sore.

She spends her day barefoot, and can only leave her house on Boddington Road, Eccles,Salford, in a mobility scooter.

She must also wear special gloves to protect her from metal items such as knives and forks.

Tracy suffers from contact dermatitis, a type of eczema that causes red, itchy, scaly skin.

(Image: Sean Hansford)

She says she had to quit her job as a factory worker 20 years ago, when the condition first affected her hands – and it later spread to her feet. But, after undergoing a medical test last year, government officials have ordered her back to work – and withdrawn her £110 per week benefits.

Tracy, who lost an appeal on the decision at a tribunal, said: “How can I go to work, or go to job interviews, with no shoes on? I just don’t know what to do. I can only wear shoes for 10 or 15 minutes, before my feet blister and split.

“Socks draw the glue in and slippers don’t help. It’s so unfair and stressful – I’m genuinely ill. Sick people are suffering because the government want more money.”

Tracy, who also has diabetes and thyroid problems, added: “I’ve tried everything to help – the doctors at Salford Royal even organised for a pair of clogs to be made in Switzerland for me. But I had a reaction to the canvas material on the top. It’s also linked to stress, and it doesn’t help that my 22-year-old son Joshua is serving in Afghanistan.”

A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions said he wasn’t able to comment on individual cases, but the government was committed to helping people back to work if they are capable. He added: “A decision on whether someone is well enough to work is taken following a thorough assessment and after consideration of all the supporting medical evidence provided by the claimant.”

Margaret Cox, of the National Eczema Society said an allergy to shoes was ‘not at all uncommon’. She said: “Of the things that provoke contact dermatitis, glue and or the dyes in leather are quite common.

“People just don’t understand just how awfully painful a severe eczema can be. If your skin is cracked, bleeding and sticking to clothing, can you imagine walking? Even a mild incidence of eczema, as many people have experienced, can be quite painful