A STRUGGLING family whose newborn baby is fighting for his life in hospital fear they could be made homeless after their benefits were capped.

Georgie Dobroch, 26, and Sophie Kelsey, 24, from Braintree, have been trying to claim money after she was taken ill after becoming pregnant.

She was diagnosed with hyperemesis which caused her to have fits and pass out.

Georgie said: “Because we already had three young children I had to stop working.

“My girlfriend couldn’t even do the school run without passing out. My benefits were capped because of this and this caused us a lot of stress.

“We then found out that our unborn baby had three heart defects.”

They had to make the three-hour journey to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital at least once a week.

Baby Palmer was born by C-section last Monday. He has three big brothers – Parker, aged six, Payton, four, and Pierre, two.

Georgie said: “Palmer had to undergo surgery straight away. He then had major open heart surgery on the the Friday which went well, although he is not out of the woods yet.

“He will have to spend a minimum of two months in the paediatric intensive care unit for monitoring and recovery. So I have three young boys at home, a girlfriend who’s just had a C-section, and a baby fighting for his life in PICU.”

Braintree and Witham Times: Baby Palmer

The family also face a financial black hole after claiming there has been a problem with their benefits.

Georgie said: “I’ve contacted the Department for Work and Pensions several times and been told there’s nothing they can do and my benefits will continue to be capped until I go to work, which I cannot do.

“I’ve also recently found out that stress in pregnancy can lead to heart defects in unborn children and I think that has contributed to this.”

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He also claims they were accused of being “liars and benefit cheats”, when they first claimed benefits because the DWP had been paying someone else using Georgie’s name for more than a year

“I tried to explain to them that it was not me as I had never claimed benefits before, but he refused to believe me and said we would not get any money until we proved it to them by completing several stupid tasks like taking selfies of ourselves in different parts of or house,” he said.

“So for the past four to five months they have only paid us £900 towards our rent, which is £1,600, and £300 for me my girlfriend and three young kids to survive on. I am now on the verge of being kicked out and they are still saying its not there problem and I have to go to work.”

A DWP spokesperson said: “Universal Credit enables people to support themselves and their families while building towards financial independence through work.

"If you’re claiming Universal Credit, have responsibility for two children and you then give birth to a new child, there isn’t an additional amount of Universal Credit for that new child.

“This policy means families on benefits are asked to make the same financial decisions as families supporting themselves solely through work, including considering our comprehensive childcare offer for working parents and child benefit for all children.

"There are careful exemptions and safeguards in place within the policy to protect people in the most vulnerable circumstances.”