A single mother-of-three who is on benefits says she would love to work but employers won't give her a chance as she's overweight. Vicky Benson, 33, from Gateshead, tipped the scales at 28st and said she has struggled to lose weight despite her efforts to diet. 'I am well and truly overweight. This big tummy doesn't seem to budge,' she said on the latest edition of Channel 5 documentary Benefits Britain: Life On The Dole. Vicky, pictured on Channel 5 documentary Benefits Britain, says she would like to work but employers won't give a chance because she's 'well and truly overweight' 'I have tried to lose weight, I have tried everything. It's hard to diet, what's right for you, what not to eat, what to have in place of the rubbish. The temptation of just saying, "I'm just going for a kebab".' She said she has tried to find work but hasn't been successful and is angry that, as a result, her handouts have been sanctioned. She used to get £270 a week benefits but this was cut to £200 a week when she failed to apply for enough jobs. 'It's terrible living on benefits, it's not what I want. I have looked at a lot of cleaning jobs, coffee shops, shoe shops, everything but I never hear anything back,' she said. 'If there are two people standing for the same job and one is big and one is slim, they will take the slim one.' As a single mother to twins Lexi and Levi, five, and daughter Chloe, 13, as well as looking after a dog, Vicky says she's no stranger to hard work. The single mother has been on the dole for eight years and is angry her benefits have been cut recently because she hasn't applied for enough jobs . 'It's a full-time job looking after three kids, in fact it's probably harder,' she pointed out. She has been living off handouts for eight years after quitting a job she had as a cleaner. She said: 'I last worked in 2007. I had a job cleaning in sheltered accommodation. I did it for eight weeks. It didn't work out so I just gave it in. Maybe I should have stuck at it and tried harder.' After her twins started at school, Vicky was warned her benefits would be sanctioned if she didn't demonstrate she was actively seeking work. But she said she struggled to find a job because of her size, lack of qualifications and the fact she would have to fit it in around childcare. Vicky, pictured applying for jobs with her daughter, said she is trying to find work . She said it's not fair her benefits have been cut as a result of her not applying for enough jobs. 'I applied for four jobs as they were the only ones suitable for me to do. As a result, my benefits have been sanctioned as they said it wasn't enough,' she explained. 'I'm really angry at the fact they can put the sanction on me when I have kids. There are others who don't have kids and lie through their teeth and still get their money,' she said. Vicky's sister, Paula, said she didn't believe the job centre have done enough to help dyslexic Vicky find work. She said: 'It's wrong she was sanctioned for something she had done, but not done enough of. It's not like she hadn't done anything. Vicky's three children and her dog, pictured, keep her busy and she hated having to visit a food bank recently in order to feed them thanks to her benefits being sanctioned . 'She's a nice person, she's honest. she's reliable. I definitely think she could work given the chance.' Vicky added that she attended a course in order to keep her benefits but it wasn't helpful. 'The course was rubbish, it was on how to set up your own business - that's never going to happen to me. I couldn't wait to get home, it was a waste of time,' she said. As a result of her benefits cut, the single mother had to go to a food bank in order to feed her children, something she said made her feel like a 'scrounger' and that she doesn't want to do again. She said she intends to join a local slimming group so she can get the support she needs to lose weight and she hopes once she's slimmer, she will get be given the opportunity to work. Benefits Britain: Life On The Dole is on C5 Mondays at 9pm or catch up On Demand 5 .
Vicky Benson, 33, from Gateshead, tipped the scales at 28st . She has struggled to lose weight despite her efforts to diet . Been on the dole for eight years . She said employers won't give her a chance because of her size . Had her handouts sanctioned when she failed she apply for enough jobs . Believes this isn't fair as she had three children to feed .