A FORMER miner with a serious heart problem has hit out at officials after they declared him fit for work.

James Handy, 43, suffers from unstable angina - a narrowing of the arteries - and diabetes. He also has trouble walking.

But the Benefits Agency decided he should be on Jobseekers Allowance and available for work, instead of Incapacity Benefit, after being examined by one of its doctors.

Mr Handy, of Easington Colliery, County Durham, spoke out about what he described as a ridiculous situation after reading how Anthony Embleton, 38, of Walker, Newcastle, died of a second heart attack after being declared fit for work and having his benefit slashed.

Mr Handy was on the dole for years following the closure of Easington Colliery following the former Tory government's scaling down of the British mining industry.

But he was then rendered unable to work when his serious illnesses developed about a year ago Incapacity Benefit.

Mr Handy, who lives in a terraced house with his wife Pat and 14-year-old daughter Kelly, was called for a medical examination by a Benefits Agency doctor.

"The doctor said I needed further investigation and should be reviewed in 12 months,'' he said. "But an official at Peterlee said I should be on Jobseekers Allowance.

"I think it stinks when a doctor says yes and a civil servant with no medical training says no.

"It is like talking to a brick wall. When I said I could give them further evidence from my consultant at Hartlepool General Hospital they didn't want it. They said they don't deal with hospitals.''

Mr Handy said he scored only seven points on the agency's assessment system because of his walking difficulties - the level for Incapacity Benefit is 15 - despite his other problems.

Although his income will not actually change in the light of the benefits switch, he is appealing against the decision.

"It is upsetting and frustrating," he said. "There's no way anyone would employ me. I would be a liability. The system is wrong, it needs to be changed.

"It is a worry for us, particularly when I think of that poor lass whose husband died.''

A Benefits Agency spokesman could not be contacted for comment last night.