A JOBLESS ex-policeman has thanked the WHT for getting him the cash he was denied – by the people helping him to find work. Martin McGovern, who receives �57-a-week in Jobseeker's Allowance, had an application for additional travel expenses turned down by

A JOBLESS ex-policeman has thanked the WHT for getting him the cash he was denied - by the people helping him to find work.

Martin McGovern, who receives �57-a-week in Jobseeker's Allowance, had an application for additional travel expenses turned down by Jobcentre Plus, in Salisbury Square, Old Hatfield.

He needed just �32 to travel from WGC to London for a driving test and a medical, having passed a job interview for the London Ambulance Service.

The agency paid his expenses to the original interview, under the Travel to Interview scheme, but refused to meet further costs.

The 50-year-old said. "I have spent the last 30 years as a public servant, as an ambulance man working for the Army and as a policeman at the Met. I thought it was disgusting."

But after the WHT called the Department of Work and Pensions, which oversees Jobcentre Plus, Mr McGovern received a cheque for the exact amount he needed.

"If I didn't get that money, I wouldn't be able to go and I wouldn't get the job," said Mr McGovern, of Viaduct Way.

"Then the job centre could have stopped my allowance because I didn't turn up for an interview. It was a catch-22 situation.

"Without the intervention of the WHT, the matter would not have been resolved so expeditiously."

A DWP spokesperson said: "In April we changed the rules so that more jobseekers can get access to this kind of help. Following this change Mr McGovern will get the payment he needed."

For more information about the Travel to Interview scheme, visit www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk