Cancer patient Douglas Hanson says he is being driven to his wits' end by a never-ending battle with red tape.

Diagnosed last year with bowel cancer, Mr Hanson says he is drowning in a sea of forms sent out by the Benefits Agency.

And he is so fed up he has now enlisted the help of Bradford South Labour MP Gerry Sutcliffe.

Mr Sutcliffe said he was shocked to hear of his plight and is now writing to ministers urging cuts in red tape to ease the burden on benefits claimants, many of whom are terminally ill.

Mr Hanson, of Bierley, Bradford, says is determined to speak out to try to improve matters for other patients who he fears are losing out because they find the forms too stressful.

Fellow patients at his regular chemotherapy sessions at Bradford Royal Infirmary have told him they simply throw forms away instead of claiming their rightful allowances.

"When I heard that, I realised I had to do something - and I went to my MP," said Mr Hanson, a 50-year-old grandfather.

"They are entitled to that money, but at the moment they don't think it's worth the extra stress, in their condition, to get an extra £30 per week."

According to Mr Hanson, who claims incapacity benefit, income support and disability living allowance, the system could be streamlined - which would also save the Government money.

"Every other day I get something through the post, send this back, fill this in. I've filled in one form which was a 50 page booklet and two more which were 30 pages each.

"They ask personal questions which I find distressing, such as how often you go to the toilet and what your illness is."

In sheer frustration, Mr Hanson has taken to filling in sarcastic replies. On one form, asked to describe his illness, he wrote in block capitals 'TERMINALLY ILL WITH CANCER FROM MY BOWEL WHICH HAS SPREAD TO MY LIVER.'

Mr Sutcliffe said: "This man is terminally ill but he keeps having to fill new forms in. Stress can lead to some of these diseases and all these forms don't help."

He has promised to take the matter up with both the Department of Health and the Department of Social Security.

And he plans to write to Health Secretary Alan Milburn and Social Security Minister Alastair Darling highlighting the problem and calling for the process to be simplified and streamlined.

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