A SINGLE mum on Universal Credit said she can't afford to buy Christmas gifts for her two kids after being left with just £30 for five weeks.

Suzanne Coates, 29, from Hull, said she'd been left with just £34 for herself and daughters Bethany, 11, and Gracie Mae, five, while her Universal Credit claim is processed.

She was switched on to Universal Credit after getting a job as a cleaner which meant she moved off Jobseeker's Allowance, which she'd claimed for a decade.

The controversial new welfare system bundles six existing benefits into a single monthly payment.

Suzanne said: "I feel really bad, I've been crying so much recently, I've been an emotional wreck, I feel poorly constantly."

The mum of two said she wanted to get a job to make a better life for her and her daughters but now wishes she'd stayed on Job Seekers Allowance.

It comes after The Sun launched our Make Universal Credit Work campaign this week.

She said: "I wish I'd stayed on JSA because at least I had stability in the old system. You knew where you were with money and when you would get paid, it goes into your bank every four weeks, but now I'm going from one month the other not knowing what money I've got.

"I know you're meant to feel great when you get a job but I don't feel great. I just want to pack it in.

"Universal Credit is just rubbish, there's no stability in your life.

"I don't know how I'll manage, but we do, we buy from charity shops, I budget, I always make sure I've got a full freezer."

The new welfare system was designed to make claiming benefits simpler, combining six different payments into one, but has proved controversial, with reports of IT issues, massive overspends and administrative problems.

The scheme is being implemented across Britain in phases, but claimants have said the five-week wait to get their first payment has pushed them into debt.