Inside UK benefits capital where jobless locals live off ‘PIP trips' and vodka-swigging teens torch bins

The Sun

22-05-2025

ITS rolling valleys and picturesque countryside attract more than half a million tourists a year.
But despite its rich heritage as a coal and steel-mining area, pockets of deprivation have earned this borough the title of the most anxious place in the UK.
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The dubious accolade comes as new figures reveal Blaenau Gwent in south Wales is home to the highest number of people who claim the state's disability benefit, PIP (Personal Independence Payment), due to anxiety or depression.
One in 30 people in the local government district in the county of Caerphilly claim PIP due to mental health problems, the statistics show.
In the small town of Rhymney, residents say they are overwhelmed by the sheer number of social residents being moved there, as the High Street's shops close their shutters and buildings are developed into HMOs (houses in multiple occupation) where at least three individuals are housed, sharing a bathroom and kitchen.
Rhymney's residents say drug dealing, anti-social behaviour and high levels of deprivation have transformed the town into a no-go area at night which is "doomed".
Walking through woods on the sunny day The Sun visited, a lone woman sat on a step in the woods guzzling beer from a can and smoking cannabis, while on the main road out of town, free roaming sheep dodged traffic.
On the High Street many of the shops are shut down, although a newsagents, fish and chip shop, barber and two Helping Hands charity shops remain open.
Many of the people on the main social housing estate next to the town centre admit they have lost hope and don't see a future for themselves.
Kirstie Cavender, 38, suffers with her mental health and collects the benefits, dubbed "going on a PIP trip".
She said: 'I never used to suffer from anxiety but had a bad time in a past relationship and it's been the same since then.
'I've claimed Universal Credit since I was 21, and have been claiming disability for three years because of my mental health.
Our town is so depraved it has the same life expectancy in war-torn Syria
"It's hard but I've become good at budgeting because I have to budget really carefully.
'I've got a 14-year-old and a seven-year-old and even if I could work there's no employment round here unless you can drive, and I don't drive.
'Rhymney used to be nice, but it's not like it used to be. There's a lot of drug abuse and drug dealing going on, so you can't go out on the streets at night, and I don't let my kids out on their own, it's just not safe.
'We need more parks and places for the kids, but we just get forgotten about, nobody who lives here has any hope. Most of the shops are shut. It's depressing.'
Rhymney used to be nice, but it's not like it used to be. There's a lot of drug abuse and drug dealing going on, so you can't go out on the streets at night, and I don't let my kids out on their own, it's just not safe
Kirstie Cavender
Another resident who wished to remain anonymous said: 'I'm on benefits for anxiety and have been for three years since I left prison.
'I also have ADHD so my mental health is not good, and I don't leave the house unless I really have to. I know loads of people here, but I just prefer to be left alone and there's not anything here to go out for.'
'We're doomed'
A total of 2,289 people in the constituency are in the same position.
Pub landlord Andrew Roberts of the Royal Arms Hotel in the High Street has just one customer cradling a pint of beer when we pay a visit.
He says the only reason he's able to stay open is because he has other pubs outside of Rhymney which keep the business afloat.
'Everywhere was thriving until the coal mining and steelworks were shut down by Maggie Thatcher.
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'Now it's a very, very poor area and there's no money about here. I can understand why everyone is depressed and down.
'They turn to drink and drugs to cope. Somewhere the bubble's going to burst.
"There's not a great deal of industry around here, with job losses in the area too there'll only be more people in the same boat.
'The only reason I keep this pub open is for the few people who come in here in the summer.
'I close most nights. The country is a mess and Wales has been forgotten.
"Ffos-y-fran opencast coal mine in Merthyr Tydfil was the last in the UK and it closed in 2023 with nothing to replace the jobs that were lost.
'The Government brought in an emergency bill to save Scunthorpe steelworks – but nobody lifted a finger to help Port Talbot's Tata Steelworks last year. I feel like we're doomed.'
What is PIP?
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a welfare benefit that can help with extra living costs.
A person can claim it if they have either a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability, or if they have a difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around because of their condition.
PIP payouts to people who suffer from anxiety or mental health disorders have more than doubled over the past five years.
In 2020 it cost the economy £1.2billion, while today that figure is £2.6billion.
Each person gets a standard rate of £73.90 per week, with a further mobility support payment of £29.20.
'Overwhelmed'
Of the residents we spoke to in Rhymney town centre, many were fiercely protective of their heritage and community spirit, but agreed there are too many people in social housing in the town.
Local resident and former charity worker Kathy Rist, 69, said: 'Rhymney is an ex heavy-mining town, but it also had Rhymney Brewery, established in 1856, that kept the whole of south Wales and beyond in good quality beer.
'It was a thriving, working class town where everybody knew each other, and that is still the case. Families go back for generations.
'We are a town where our basic ethos is looking after people who are in a bit of trouble or down at heel.
"Because of that we have people placed here who are vulnerable in the type of housing where they are not looked after.
'They may have drug and drink issues, and we're not against people who are vulnerable living our communities, but the town is overwhelmed by the amount of people.
Youngsters sometimes like to congregate here, which is fine... But then they've got bottles of vodka, which they're smashing on the ground, and then they set fire to the bins because they're cold. There's nothing else for them to do
Kathy Rist
"The bank, two of the chapels, the old doctor's surgery and several large houses have been turned into HMOs, which are basic.
'Youngsters sometimes like to congregate here, which is fine. They get off the train and hang around in the park.
'But then they've got bottles of vodka, which they're smashing on the ground, and then they set fire to the bins because they're cold. There's nothing else for them to do.
'Rhymney is a nice town full of good, honest, hard-working people. But there's nothing here for entertainment, activity, enrichment or going out with friends in an evening. That's what it's lacking.
'Thatcher tore the guts out of this town by the closure of the pits, which was followed by the closure of the brewery.
'The brewery building was turned into a gym which was the heart of the community; everyone went to the gym whether you were fit or not. It was gut-wrenching to lose that when it shut in 2024.
'The council in their wisdom are putting council-owned housing there, but also a vulnerable children's home next to a railway which is becoming a metro system and will have four trains an hour when it's upgraded. It's a recipe for disaster because of county lines."
'Lack of purpose'
The Rhymney line is undergoing a major upgrade as part of the South Wales Metro project, with an eight-month engineering programme currently underway to electrify the line, meaning more frequent trains.
Yvonne Pugh, 80, said: 'Although on some parts you'd think life was harder during the mining years, it was also easier.
"We had things on our doorstep like socials; I think that's the kind of thing which enriches the little valleys.
'Anxiety comes from a lack of purpose in your life. You can have bouts of anxiety because of bereavement, or awful things happening to you. But it doesn't have to be permanent, if there are things around you to helping you out of that.
The council in their wisdom are putting council-owned housing there, but also a vulnerable children's home next to a railway which is becoming a metro system and will have four trains an hour when it's upgraded. It's a recipe for disaster because of county lines
Yvonne Pugh
'When the bigger industries have gone from the valley, we haven't had enough replacements or training.
'If you're on a low income there's nothing to help you out anymore. It's not that people haven't got the incentive, there's just not enough round here to help them.
'The town needs a facelift, but there are a few littles groups trying to help, but we need our share of redevelopment and that would help us.
"It needs to have a little bit back of what it had before, more groups and things made easier for youngsters to do.
'The lack of employment here now is difficult, not everyone has the luxury of jumping in a car to get to work.'
No hope
Lyndsey Thomas, 51, an EOTAS (Education Otherwise Than At School) tutor supporting children who aren't in mainstream education, said: 'It's systemic. We can be quick to see anxiety as an internal thing, but it's systemic.
"It's ok providing housing and shelter, but that's the bottom of the pyramid.
'To allow people to thrive it needs to be about food and warmth, but on top of that we need to look at how to address the problem.
'Young people are making their own entertainment around here because there's nothing for them to do. We've never had a leisure centre here, I remember kids asking if we'd ever have a swimming pool.
'Hope is what is lacking here. When you ask young people, 'What are your aspirations?' a lot of young people, particularly in an area of deprivation, their only experience is of going to the local Asda on a weekly shop, you might know of a hairdresser, a nail bar.
Hope is what is lacking here. When you ask young people, 'What are your aspirations?' a lot of young people, particularly in an area of deprivation, their only experience is of going to the local Asda on a weekly shop
Lyndsey Thomas
'Even though they might learn of Neil Armstrong at school, or hear, 'My dad's a doctor', there's a real sense of people thinking, 'I'm not good enough for that'.
'It's very easy to see 'scroungers', but they've all got a story. There's no investment for a future. They can't tell you want they want to do because they can't see a future for themselves.'
Alison Jones, 77, spearheaded a campaign to save the old brewery building in a bid to improve the town's wellbeing and economic future.
"With imagination it could be a place for training, especially in the growth industries like hospitality," she said.
"It's in a prime position next to the train line, it could have been used as a heritage destination or lots of different things to bring money into Rhymney, which could stay in Rhymney.
'But instead, the council have decided to use that for further social housing. We're not against social housing at all, but we want to make sure the town has places people can go to, to help everyone.
'The local authority is inundating Rhymney and the local community with the people that need help, and yet they're taking away the structures that could help them.'
The Sun has reached out to the local council for comment.