A former business owner says he doesn't know how he will survive on £980 in benefits a month after an attack has left him unable to work.
David Thomas, 57, was assaulted outside a pub in Trent Vale, Stoke-on-Trent, in 2013 when he stepped in to help break up a fight.
He was punched to the ground, where he hit his head on a kerb that left him unconscious for two weeks.
David then spent the next two months in the hospital, StokeonTrentLive reports.
His brain injury and the effects of the assault have changed his life for good - sparking fears of what will happen as the cost of living increases.
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Dad David, from Hanford, said: “I’ve been unemployed since this injury I had where I got beat up trying to protect someone. They smashed my brain.
“I used to work in a record shop and did part-time work helping my mate who was running nightclubs.
“I can’t walk the same, I hobble and have a stick. I’ve got a scooter which I paid for by myself. My health is always going to be up and down. I’m depressed. I’m not getting what I should get.”
The former record seller is now dependent on council funding to carry on with his day-to-day life.
He receives £320 a month in job seekers' allowance and £660 a month in disability benefits.
Last week, a huge hike in energy bills was confirmed for millions of households.
Energy regulator Ofgem confirmed it is upping its price cap from £1,277 to £1,971 - an eye-watering 54 per cent increase of £693.
Prepayment customers will be the worst hit, with an increase of £708 from £1,309 to £2,017.
At the same time, the Bank of England also raised interest rates to 0.5% from 0.25% - adding to the bills misery for those with a mortgage.
With gas and electricity prices on the rise, David fears the impact inflation will have on himself and others.
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Stoke-on-Trent is set to become part of the government’s Levelling Up programme which will see more investment.
However, David says the programme will create a "worse situation" for people later on in life.
He added: “Levelling Up means nothing to me because they’ve cut £150 off my dole, I don’t know why they are suddenly taking money off me now. I’m struggling to pay bills as it is.
“When prices go up it will be even worse. I can’t walk or do anything so life is difficult. I’m stuck in the house so the bills going up are going to kill me.
“Levelling up is just borrowing money and you have got to pay it back later so you are creating a worse situation for people later on in life.
“It’s a temporary thing. There’s no point doing it if everything is going to increase in price. You are getting yourself more in debt.
“It’s a ploy from the government to make it look like they are helping. They are not helping us. In five years' time, people will realise they have got to pay this all back.”
It comes as charity chiefs last week warned that Boris Johnson’s Levelling Up plan will not help the “deluge” of families facing homelessness due to the rising cost of living.
They say the flagship policy, blasted for being empty on ideas and funding, is meaningless without investment in new homes.
David’s assault left him with life-lasting injuries and mobility issues and he says he cannot return to work.
He added: “I’ll never work again because I can’t walk, my brain is knackered. I can’t remember and I have to write down anything that is important.
“Levelling up is not really levelling up. With me not having a job it will make living even more difficult.
“Stoke does alright for what it is but there isn’t much more you can do. We are never going to beat the bigger cities like Manchester, London and Birmingham.
“There’s no chance it will allow the city to compete.”
David says that the government should be focusing on increasing pay instead of investment in transport and infrastructure - a key part of the levelling up programme.
He said: “There needs to be a better rate of pay for people because we are very low paid around here. With everything going up people are going to struggle with inflation.
“They’ve always been underpaid here. Everywhere has got a different pay stature, it’s how the council runs things.
“I just sit in the house. The way I am, I've got nobody and I just have to survive.
“What’ll make people feel better is knowing how well the football team is doing. Stoke is a simple place and little things like that get the people going.”
