THOUSANDS of cancer patients will be hit by delays in receiving vital support because of Universal Credit, a charity has claimed.

Macmillan Cancer Support claims terminally ill patients will be left without the cash that they need to buy food or pay for heating.

The charity estimates that 26,000 cancer patients will face delays under the new benefits system if it goes ahead.

And that could be as long as five weeks waiting to receive critical financial support which could put people at risk of stress anxiety.

Universal Credit has to be applied for online which could be difficult for those in hospital or without a computer.

And travelling to Job Centres is the only other alternative to apply - but this runs the risk of infection for some vulnerable patients.

Macmillan Cancer Support chief executive Lynda Thomas said: "People with cancer should be able to focus their energy on their health, not worrying about how to make ends meet when they are too unwell to work.

"It is unacceptable to force patients to risk infection at Job Centres, log onto computers from hospital and wait more than a month for vital financial support, even at the end of their lives.

"The system is failing people with cancer and we urge the Government to fix this benefit, before tens of thousands more vulnerable people are put at risk of hardship."

Angela Raine, a 55-year-old grandmother from County Durham, said she was forced to give up her job in a pharmacy that she'd worked in for 13 years when she was diagnosed with incurable breast cancer last year.

She said that applying for benefits is a nightmare: "I can't explain quite how stressful it is - I want to cry just thinking about it," the Northern Echo reports.

Angela added: "I was trying to cope with being told I may die and yet at the same time I'm having to fight to just get a little money, so that we can survive."

Universal Credit - the new all-in-one benefits system which will replace six payments currently given out separately - was planned to be rolled out in April 2017 but delays have pushed back its full launch date to the end of 2023.

The new system has been met with savage criticism from many different groups, including single mums and policy directors.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “It is simply not true that the fast track process for terminally ill claimants has been removed under Universal Credit.

"We’re determined to ensure that people living with terminal illnesses get the support they need through this difficult time and this continues to include fast tracking Universal Credit claims for claimants with a life expectancy of less than six months.

"These claimants will also be awarded an additional amount of Universal Credit from the first day of their claim.

“We have a visiting service for claimants with serious barriers. Claimants who are terminally ill and unable to make their claim for Universal Credit online, or attend a Jobcentre, are able to make their claim by telephone, or request a home or hospital visit. At the visit, a DWP Visiting Officer will support the customer to make their claim for Universal Credit and verify the customer’s identity, enabling their claim to be progressed as quickly as possible.

“Universal Credit (UC) replaces an out-of-date, complex benefits system.

"We brought in improvements which include increasing advances to 100%, removing the 7-day waiting period and paying people’s Housing Benefit for two weeks while they wait for the first UC payment, so no one needs to be without money during the first five weeks of a claim.”