ianstone
08-16-2010, 08:57 AM
Benefits couple with ELEVEN children rake in £30,000 a year and a free five-bedroom home (and now they've got another baby on the way)
By Daily Mail Reporter (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Daily+Mail+Reporter)
Last updated at 1:03 PM on 16th August 2010
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Add to My Stories (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1303439/Benefits-couple-claiming-30-000-11-children-ANOTHER-way.html)
A benefits claimant whose partner is expecting her 12th child boasted today that they 'have enough for a football team'.
Out-of-work Gary Bateman, 46, and Joanne Shepherd, 36, have been moved into a free five-bedroom house in which to raise their brood.
The £1,200-a-month rent on their home is covered by the more than £30,000 a year they claim from the taxpayer.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/16/article-1303439-0ACF61B4000005DC-327_468x431.jpg Big family: Joanne Sheppard, her partner Gary Bateman and eight of their children (left to right) Brandon, Cameron, Ethan, Libby, Riley, Jasmine, Rhys, and Bragon, seen here in 2006
Soon after moving into the new property, mother-of-11 Miss Shepherd was pregnant for a 12th time. She is to give birth at the end of the year.
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Fiona McEvoy, of the Taxpayer's Alliance, said: 'It's disgraceful that this family is being given more than taxpayers earn, our benefits system needs real reform.'
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/16/article-1303439-0ACF6EAE000005DC-806_233x499.jpg Joanne Sheppard outside her home in Bristol today: She is now expecting her 12th child
But Mr Bateman, 46, said: 'People should mind their own business. We're not doing anyone any harm. It's a nice place. We outgrew the last house. It was a bit of a nightmare being on top of each other.'
Speaking about his partner's 12th pregnancy, he told The Sun: ' It was an accident. Something happened that wasn't supposed to. We've enough for a football team.'
Mr Bateman says he has been out of work for as long as he can remember.
His partner Miss Sheppard, who currently has 11 children by three men, has not worked for 19 years after she fell pregnant with her first child aged just 17.
Despite her taxpayer-funded lifestyle, Sheppard claims it is her family who are are the victims in this situation.
She said: 'I feel we have been victimised. We're having another baby, so what?
'People ought to just leave me alone. I don't care what people think of me.
'I did not want to move out of Yate but it's fine now - I love my new house.
'Why can't everyone just leave us alone - it's not like we are on drugs or alcohol.
'I just can't understand what all the fuss is about. It's just not fair.'
Her children with Bateman, who has also fathered children with other women, range from a son of 17 to a baby of eight months.
She added: 'My job is looking after my kids until they are old enough to look after themselves. Then I will go out and get a job.
'I think looking after kids - especially two with ADHD - is the hardest job. If you stayed here and looked after my kids you would want to go straight back to work.'
Miss Sheppard also believes her neighbours are victimising the family by tipping off the press about their benefits.
'My husband is fuming about this,' she stormed.
'I don't talk to my neighbours and they don't have the bottle to knock on my door and talk to my face.
'It's selfish. Do they understand what all this is putting my kids through?
'Some are old enough to understand what is going on and it gets around their school.'
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/16/article-1303439-0ACF60BF000005DC-990_468x510.jpg Old home: The family had lived in this modest property in Bristol
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/16/article-1303439-0ACF6E95000005DC-611_468x317.jpg Relocation: The council has now moved them to this five-bedroom house to accommodate their growing needs
The couple first hit the headlines in 2006, when they boasted of a £1,500 Christmas spending spree - courtesy of the British taxpayer.
Last year, it emerged that Mr Bateman had been claiming benefits due to a bad back, but was still indulging in his passion for off-road sport motocross.
He admits he still has no job and collects £89.80 a week for long-term incapacity. He also allegedly continues to ride motorbikes, saying: 'I have to keep myself occupied.'
Child benefit alone brings the couple hundreds of pounds a month.
They can claim £20.30 a week for the oldest child at home, and £13.40 for others up to the age of 18. They could also be eligible for a guardian's allowance of £14.30 a week per child.
Mr Bateman, who has also fathered children with other women, said his family were living in a three-bedroom house in Yate, near Bristol, before the move to the detached home in suburban Staple Hill.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1303439/Benefits-couple-claiming-30-000-11-children-ANOTHER-way.html#ixzz0wlzntuDV
By Daily Mail Reporter (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Daily+Mail+Reporter)
Last updated at 1:03 PM on 16th August 2010
Comments (109) (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1303439/Benefits-couple-claiming-30-000-11-children-ANOTHER-way.html#comments)
Add to My Stories (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1303439/Benefits-couple-claiming-30-000-11-children-ANOTHER-way.html)
A benefits claimant whose partner is expecting her 12th child boasted today that they 'have enough for a football team'.
Out-of-work Gary Bateman, 46, and Joanne Shepherd, 36, have been moved into a free five-bedroom house in which to raise their brood.
The £1,200-a-month rent on their home is covered by the more than £30,000 a year they claim from the taxpayer.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/16/article-1303439-0ACF61B4000005DC-327_468x431.jpg Big family: Joanne Sheppard, her partner Gary Bateman and eight of their children (left to right) Brandon, Cameron, Ethan, Libby, Riley, Jasmine, Rhys, and Bragon, seen here in 2006
Soon after moving into the new property, mother-of-11 Miss Shepherd was pregnant for a 12th time. She is to give birth at the end of the year.
More...
More than 900,000 have been off sick for a DECADE - costing taxpayer £4bn a year (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1303320/4bn-year-900-000-whove-decade-sick.html)
It beggars belief: How the fake homeless are raking in more than £20,000 a year (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1303310/Beggars-pretending-homeless-raking-20-000-year.html)
Councils pay for disabled to visit prostitutes and lap-dancing clubs from £520m taxpayer fund (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1303273/Councils-pay-disabled-visit-prostitutes-lap-dancing-clubs.html)
Fiona McEvoy, of the Taxpayer's Alliance, said: 'It's disgraceful that this family is being given more than taxpayers earn, our benefits system needs real reform.'
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/16/article-1303439-0ACF6EAE000005DC-806_233x499.jpg Joanne Sheppard outside her home in Bristol today: She is now expecting her 12th child
But Mr Bateman, 46, said: 'People should mind their own business. We're not doing anyone any harm. It's a nice place. We outgrew the last house. It was a bit of a nightmare being on top of each other.'
Speaking about his partner's 12th pregnancy, he told The Sun: ' It was an accident. Something happened that wasn't supposed to. We've enough for a football team.'
Mr Bateman says he has been out of work for as long as he can remember.
His partner Miss Sheppard, who currently has 11 children by three men, has not worked for 19 years after she fell pregnant with her first child aged just 17.
Despite her taxpayer-funded lifestyle, Sheppard claims it is her family who are are the victims in this situation.
She said: 'I feel we have been victimised. We're having another baby, so what?
'People ought to just leave me alone. I don't care what people think of me.
'I did not want to move out of Yate but it's fine now - I love my new house.
'Why can't everyone just leave us alone - it's not like we are on drugs or alcohol.
'I just can't understand what all the fuss is about. It's just not fair.'
Her children with Bateman, who has also fathered children with other women, range from a son of 17 to a baby of eight months.
She added: 'My job is looking after my kids until they are old enough to look after themselves. Then I will go out and get a job.
'I think looking after kids - especially two with ADHD - is the hardest job. If you stayed here and looked after my kids you would want to go straight back to work.'
Miss Sheppard also believes her neighbours are victimising the family by tipping off the press about their benefits.
'My husband is fuming about this,' she stormed.
'I don't talk to my neighbours and they don't have the bottle to knock on my door and talk to my face.
'It's selfish. Do they understand what all this is putting my kids through?
'Some are old enough to understand what is going on and it gets around their school.'
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/16/article-1303439-0ACF60BF000005DC-990_468x510.jpg Old home: The family had lived in this modest property in Bristol
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/16/article-1303439-0ACF6E95000005DC-611_468x317.jpg Relocation: The council has now moved them to this five-bedroom house to accommodate their growing needs
The couple first hit the headlines in 2006, when they boasted of a £1,500 Christmas spending spree - courtesy of the British taxpayer.
Last year, it emerged that Mr Bateman had been claiming benefits due to a bad back, but was still indulging in his passion for off-road sport motocross.
He admits he still has no job and collects £89.80 a week for long-term incapacity. He also allegedly continues to ride motorbikes, saying: 'I have to keep myself occupied.'
Child benefit alone brings the couple hundreds of pounds a month.
They can claim £20.30 a week for the oldest child at home, and £13.40 for others up to the age of 18. They could also be eligible for a guardian's allowance of £14.30 a week per child.
Mr Bateman, who has also fathered children with other women, said his family were living in a three-bedroom house in Yate, near Bristol, before the move to the detached home in suburban Staple Hill.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1303439/Benefits-couple-claiming-30-000-11-children-ANOTHER-way.html#ixzz0wlzntuDV