‘I’m selling Jade’s old toys to make ends meet’

After tragic reality star Jade Goody’s mum Jackiey Budden had her benefits slashed, she tells Closer she's having to sell cherished possessions to get by

Published on04 11 2014

She found fame after appearing on Celebrity Big Brother with her reality star daughter Jade Goody, but Jackiey Budden has revealed she's being forced to find her first real job in 30 years after job centre bosses slashed her benefits.

The furious grandmother - who lost the use of her left arm in a motorbike accident in 1986 - has been told her disability doesn’t stop her finding work and her £178-a–fortnight income support has been replaced with weekly £72 Jobseekers Allowance.

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The 57-year-old has applied for more than 50 jobs and has already been offered four as a nanny, housekeeper, call centre operator and charity worker.

But Jackiey, who regularly looks after grandsons Bobbie, 11, and Freddie, 10, from Jade's relationship with TV presenter Jeff Brazier, is worried she’ll miss out on spending time with them if she has to work.

She also fears the constant pain she suffers in her right hand will make it hard for her to keep a job and says she's considering selling toys and books belonging to Jade - who died from cervical cancer in 2009 - to make ends meet.

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Jackie says: “I was devastated when they cut my benefits. They say I’m fit to work but I have to take painkillers as my right hand hurts so much because I have to use it to do everything and it swells up. I have to rest it for hours a day and sometimes I drop things.

“Jade would want me to get a job and she would be so proud that I’ve written my CV for the first time and have had so many interviews. But I need to find the right job - I'm worried about missing out seeing Bobbie and Freddie in the school holidays. They’re all I have left of Jade, they look so like her and have her personality. I treasure my time with them.”