A BRIT mum banged up in a hellhole Thai prison where she is “fed rat meat” has revealed the truth behind her benefit-scrounging claims.
Ellis Matthews, 32, was locked up for overstaying her visa – after documenting how she apparently diddled British taxpayers to live in luxury.
Ellis Matthews told her followers how she diddled the benefits system[/caption]
The single mum flaunted her “dream life” in sunny southeast Asia, where she’s lived for four years, and claimed to fund it by guzzling up benefits from abroad.
She bragged to thousands of followers that she scooped up £2,300 each month in UK government handouts for her “six mental disorders”.
But her luxury lifestyle fell apart on March 3 when she was thrown into a “rat-infested” Bangkok jail alongside her four-year-old son Cairo.
And now, the glum mum has claimed the story about living off UK benefits wasn’t even true.
According to Ellis, Brits who saw her false videos got in touch with the Thai authorities and accused her of human trafficking and child abuse – leading to her arrest.
She told MailOnline: “These videos were just a joke. The truth is that I never got any UK benefits while in Thailand, not a single penny.
“I can understand why people in the UK are angry and upset about them which is why there’s not a lot of sympathy for me.
“But I was just lying in my videos to get more followers and make some money from my TikTok account. It was all a big hoax, that’s all.”
Ellis once appeared on Judge Rinder after apparently squandering a £6million fortune – but she says that was all made up as well.
However, she says it is true that she once got £1.6million from suing Lancashire local authorities for letting her down in childhood – but has spent it all.
‘Hell on Earth’
Ellis described the unbearable conditions she and her son face in the overcrowded cell, which they share with 16 other women and their kids.
She told MailOnline: “This is hell on Earth, it’s the worst prison that you can imagine.
“My skin is covered in rashes, both me and my son have got lice, terrible insect bites and there’s rats running around.”
Ellis said they are surviving off lumpy rice and “rat or pigeon” meat – which is too disgusting to eat.
The mum previously appeared on reality show Judge Rinder, after apparently having squandered a £6million fortune[/caption]
The mum says she is living off lumpy rice and won’t eat the meat provided – which she thinks is rat or pigeon[/caption]
The crowd of women have only two filthy toilets and one shower between them – and a single fan that sometimes works.
The pair are forced to spend 20 hours of each day locked up in the squalor.
She added: “We can’t sleep at night because there’s so much screaming and shouting.
“There are 35 women and children in the cell next to ours. It’s unbearable in here, I can’t stop crying and just want to get out as quickly as possible.”
Ticket out
Thai authorities have told Ellis she can leave when she can buy herself a plane ticket back to the UK.
She was arrested after overstaying her visa, which expired on February 21, and because a local anti-child abuse charity raised concerns about Cairo’s welfare.
The despairing mum asked: “I’ve got the money for an airline ticket but can’t get to it because they won’t allow me to access my bank account so what am I supposed to do?”
She also claimed her visa was originally cancelled because “people in the UK have been trolling me and accusing me of horrible things”.
However, Ellis said she would rather keep rotting in the jail than return to the UK – because she fears social services would take Cairo away from her.
She said: “I’m not going to lose Cairo and there’s no way I’m going back to the UK.”
Cambodia or Turkey would be much better options, according to the mum, but that looks unlikely.
Thai officials have said that according to the country’s immigration laws she can only return to the UK as she is a British national.
Ellis said she would even be prepared to revoke her British citizenship if it avoided her coming back to the UK.
She said: “I’m fighting for my life and future, all I want is to live peacefully with my baby.”
A history of controversy
Before her arrest, Ellis had built a following online by openly sharing how she was able to live in Thailand while claiming UK benefits.
Posting under the name @mumontheruninasia, she boasted about getting £2,300 per month in Disability Living Allowance, despite having lived abroad for years.
One of her clips shows her in a bikini, holding cash, as she reportedly said: “I picked up my Disability Living Allowance today and I’ve been doing so for the past four years of not living in the UK.”
She added: “So, I receive around £2,300 per month undisputable [SIC] money and that pays for my lifestyle out here in Thailand.”
Ellis claimed she qualified for the payments due to her “six mental disorders”, which he said required “ongoing treatment costs to be met by the NHS by the taxpayer”.
Thailand is not on the list of countries where British citizens can usually receive UK benefits while living abroad – and she now claims all this was a lie.
As news of her imprisonment spread, a GoFundMe page was set up in her name, with donations currently sitting at £180.
But the page description states it was created “without her permission” and at the “request of others on TikTok”.
The fundraiser reads: “Keeping it short but will update. Funds needed to support Mum On The Run and Cairo.”
While some of her supporters have shown sympathy, others have questioned whether her story is entirely true.
What is Disability Living Allowance (DLA)?
DISABILITY Living Allowance (DLA) is a UK government benefit that helps with the extra costs of living with a disability or long-term health condition.
However, it is now mostly phased out for adults and has been replaced by Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
Who Can Get DLA?
- Children under 16: DLA is still available for children who need extra care or have mobility difficulties.
- Adults aged 16 or over: New claims for DLA are no longer accepted; they must apply for PIP instead.
- Existing DLA claimants: Some adults still receive DLA, but they are gradually being moved to PIP
