A penniless couple have been left devastated after they were forced to pawn their engagement ring after having their benefits cut.

Paul Firth, 48 and his fiancée, Zena Tyson, 43, accepted just £50 from a pawnbroker for the ring - a fraction of the £385 they paid for the jewellery initially.

Self-employed joiner Mr Firth has been involved in a long-running dispute with HMRC after his working tax credits kept being reduced and have now been cut altogether.

Now, the couple from Hull, East Yorks., claim they receive just £54 a week to feed themselves as well as Ms Tyson's 13-year-old son, Liam.

Father-of-four Mr Firth said the family are down to counting pennies and had no option but to pawn their piece of jewellery.

Glasgow Times:

He said: "We are always behind or in debt because they have changed our money that many times in the past 14 months that we've never been able to recover.

"Last week, they left us with no money and we had to go to our son's house to eat - we were that desperate.

"We have got nothing to eat and we are counting pennies out of a jar to feed ourselves.

"I don't know where else to go which is why we had to pawn the ring. "I've been everywhere we can think of."

The pair, who have been together for 18 months, have had to cancel their electricity direct debits because they can't afford to keep the payments up.

It is thought Mr Firth was overpaid by HMRC because they believed his annual profit, which he sent them details of, was for just one quarter. As such, an estimation was made that he was earning four times the sum he actually was.

Ms Tyson, a former cleaner, was diagnosed with sciatica and chronic lumbago last year and can no longer work due to her bad back.

She has also had problems with HMRC and now only receives a total of £54 a week to live on.

Mr Firth said: "It's killing us. We are just at the end of my tether. We've got nothing.

"We've basically got no money. I just don't know how they can do so much to one family."

HMRC has been contacted for comment.