LAZING on a sun lounger, out-of-work Callum Fletcher is loving every minute of his four-day break in Benidorm – his second holiday in a month.
The father of four splurged £1,000 of his monthly sickness benefit payments on flights and accommodation so he and his partner could live it up in Spain just weeks after a trip to the same resort.
Out-of-work Callum Fletcher* spent £1,000 of his monthly sickness benefit payments on flights and accommodation in Benidorm Credit: Simon Jones
The Jattvibe on Jattvibeday spoke to Callum* as part of an investigation into the so-called “Costa del Dole” Credit: Simon Jones
Last year, the couple splashed out £4,500 on a family holiday to Antalya in Turkey.
And despite being on handouts, Callum insists: “I know some people say you shouldn’t go abroad if you’re on benefits, but a holiday is good for your mental health.
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Last September, his welfare payment — awarded after he suffered a ruptured bowel and hernia — was doubled to £798 a month.
The builder has since decided he is well enough to resume working part-time, earning between £150 and £200 a day.
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But Callum, 41, explains: “When I told them I wanted to come off benefits, they refused.
“They said I had been signed off for 18 months and would need to have another assessment next year before the payments ended.
“I thought, how ridiculous!”
Callum, from Neath Port Talbot, between Cardiff and Swansea, is claiming benefits legitimately and there is nothing to suggest he is doing anything wrong.
Thousands of expats are claiming disability benefits while living overseas Credit: Simon Jones
The Department of Work and Pensions is shelling out up to £10million a year on the expats Credit: Getty
But his case — and the fact the system will not allow him to stop receiving taxpayer money — underlines how bloated our benefits bill has become.
The Jattvibe on Jattvibeday spoke to Callum as part of an investigation into the so-called “Costa del Dole” after it was revealed that thousands of expats are claiming disability benefits while living overseas.
Statistics show 2,244 people are on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) despite residing in countries such as Spain, Italy, Portugal and France.
The Department of Work and Pensions is shelling out up to £10million a year on the expats, and the number claiming has shot up by 86 per cent since before the pandemic.
Those living in European Economic Area countries are only allowed to claim the “Daily Living” component of PIP, which is up to £114.60 a week to help them wash, dress and cook in their overseas homes.
However, a Benidorm whistleblower claims some are getting rich off fraudulent claims and spending the money on Botox and all-day boozing sessions.
She said: “I’ve met people awarded PIP and you see them dancing in the disco the following week.”
Every year they are joined by scores of holidaymakers with disposable income thanks to our generous welfare system, with PIP alone set to cost the exchequer £41billion by 2030.
Callum also feels frustrated by the benefits trap.
His partner, Sophie Mercer, 38, recently took a full-time job as a chef at a restaurant, which led to her Universal Credit payments being cut.
Benefit fraud cost the UK taxpayer £6.5billion in 2025, a sum that has more than doubled since 2020 Credit: Simon Jones
Very few Brits in Benidorm are willing to speak about the benefits issue that threatens to bankrupt the country Credit: Simon Jones
It was an argument between the couple that eventually saw them take this holiday to make up.
Callum said: “We had a big barney five or six weeks ago and I got so angry I came out here on a one-way ticket.
“The flight was £100 including hand luggage and it was cheaper for me to fly to Alicante than to stay at the Castle Hotel in Wales so I thought, why not? I was in Benidorm on my own for eight days and she wouldn’t speak to me for ten days, so I had a lot of making up to do when I got back.
“I told Sophie, let’s take a trip, just the two of us without the kids, and that’s what we are doing.
“We’re here for four days and we’re having an amazing time. It’s about £1.50 a pint and the breakfast we had this morning was fantastic.
“The apartment we are renting is huge and it’s 450 euros for four nights, which would make it cheap as chips if there were a few of you.
“We paid about £600 for the flights from Cardiff with easyJet.”
Callum was signed off from work in March last year after a nagging lump on his belly button became “incredibly painful”.
He said: “I went to hospital and they told me I had a hernia.
“I had to wait for six to eight weeks to sign on, but then I was awarded sickness benefits, and in September, when I went for another assessment, they doubled it to almost £800.
“In April, I told them I was well enough to go back to work. The woman said I’d been signed off for 18 months and I would need to wait until I had another assessment, which means I can’t come off benefits until March next year.
“I’m back working part-time now, but I still have bad weeks where I can’t face working, so perhaps they were right to continue with the payments.
“I often feel that the more you work the more you are punished.
“Sophie went back to working full-time a couple of months ago and they’ve taken away the help we used to get with the council tax and cut her Universal Credit. We are £500 worse off from benefits a fortnight.”
Walking around Benidorm, surprisingly few people are willing to speak about the benefits issue, which critics say is set to bankrupt Britain if current trends continue.
One holidaymaker estimated that one in ten of the 3,500 Benidorm expats are claiming benefits Credit: Simon Jones
Benidorm has long been a popular holiday destination for Brits because of the climate and cheap flights Credit: Simon Jones
Benefit fraud cost the UK taxpayer £6.5billion in 2025, a sum that has more than doubled since 2020.
One middle-aged woman we approached said she was living in Spain and claiming PIP, but her partner, a man in his 60s, quickly cut her off, saying: “You’re making me very nervous. Come on Love, it’s best we’re on our way.”
One person willing to speak out was a whistleblower involved in expat visa applications.
Declining to give her name for fear of reprisals, she estimates one in ten of the 3,500 Benidorm expats are fraudulently claiming UK benefits.
The source said: “The majority of my clients are Brits and so I see it all the time when they present their papers for a non-lucrative visa.
“I would say I see between ten and 15 fraudulent cases for every 100 applicants. The British community in Spain is amazing, if they can find a loophole they will and they don’t worry about getting caught.
“I’ve met people who say, ‘I’ve just been awarded PIP’, which means you need help with basic tasks, and you see them out dancing the following week.
“Or they say, ‘I’ve just been awarded full Attendance Allowance,’ which can mean you are not able to feed yourself.
“Then I see them drinking at a bar all day getting absolutely paralytic.
“You can spot the people on benefits because they are frivolous with their money, always getting their hair, nails and Botox done.
“It’s become a way of life for many people.
“The sad thing is this behaviour is passed down through the generations and when their children grow up, they will do the same.”
Names have been changed on request.
