Living the lifestyle(shameless.)
Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 11:45 pm
A mother-of-twelve who pockets tens of thousands of pounds in benefits spent £1,300 on birthday presents for her son's sixth birthday but says those with an opinion can 'get stuffed'.
Cheryl Prudham, 33, who lives in Lancashire, uses taxpayers' money to lavish nearly £12,000 of expensive gifts on her children per year because she wants them to feel 'truly special'.
For her son Leon's sixth birthday, she and her 31-year-old husband Robert - who receive around £40,000 in state handouts - bought him a 50cc petrol quad bike with a personalised number plate which cost £500.
On top of that, the couple also bought him a bouncy castle for £650, before spending £150 on other items, including a new school backpack.
But, despite admitting frittering away nearly £12,000 per year on her children's gifts, the mother - who says she is a 'reluctant celebrity' - says she does not care if people criticise her
spending habits.
She even suggests taxpayers could give her money via direct debit to 'cut out the middle man'.
Mrs Prudham said: 'I'm just taking what the government gives me: if you find a tenner in the street you're going to pick it up, aren't you?
'Anyone that's got an opinion can get stuffed. I think f*** you, this is my beautiful family - I have chosen to have a big family because I want one, not because of money, or because I'm greedy or because I'm a sponger.
'If you think that I'm taking your tax and hard-earned money, you can set up a direct debit and you can transfer directly to me... cut out the middle man if you want.'
Almost half the parents in the UK say they cannot afford birthday parties for their children. But the Prudhams, who are seen uprooting to a five-bedroom property in Skelmersdale, Lancashire during the documentary, admit spending £500 on each of their children for both birthdays and Christmas.
During the documentary, birthday boy Leon is seen riding around on his new quad bike - which can go at 18mph - and crashing it in a field without wearing a helmet, as his parents watch on.
'This year we've gone a bit over the top with the amount of money we've spent on the kids. They've had around £500 each for their birthdays,' she said.
'But they want the latest gadgets and I don't think they should miss out because there's a lot of them. I just try and make it special for them and give them what I didn't have.'
Mrs Prudham - who at one point even compares herself to Princess Diana - also admits some of the money comes from her child benefit and child tax credits entitlements.
'Child benefit gets used towards birthdays and I don't see anything wrong with that because that's benefitting the child anyway. If a child didn't get anything then they'd be pretty p***** off,' she said.
Mrs Prudham made the admission on Channel 5 documentary Benefits: Britain’s Most Shameless Mum, which followed the family as she geared up to give birth to her twelfth child.
The couple have previously admitted claiming £800 per week in benefits - the equivalent of £56,000 a year salary before tax - which is topped up with Mr Prudham's £250 a week pizza delivery wage
They managed to avoid the Government's £26,000-a-year cap on state handouts because Mr Prudham works enough hours to claim working tax credit.
But, after moving from their Kent council house earlier this year to a larger house in Lancashire, they began claiming a £200 extra in housing benefit, because it was privately-rented.
'That's what the Government says we're entitled to live on and if they're saying that's what we can have we're not going to say no, are we?' she tells the programme.
'Apparently we get so much in benefits and I get called benefit scrounger, baby machine. But it's my body and I'll have as many children as I like.
'I'll have 20 if I want I won't have anyone dictate to me what's right and what's wrong.'
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