A ‘feckless’ father-of seven so broke he launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for his children’s Christmas presents says the family lives in their pyjamas because they can’t afford to buy clothes.
Ryan Rodgers hit back at his mother-in-law’s claims that he’s a ‘workshy liar’ to insist he is looking for a job – and only quit one last year after a cancer scare.
Ryan, 26, and fiancée Jenny Grimes, 25, who have raised £3,800 from kind-hearted well-wishers so far, insist that some of the cash will be given to charity and not all of it spent on them.
Ryan Rodgers and Jenny Grimes (pictured) have set up a GoFundMe page that has hit £4,000 in donations from well-wishers to pay for food and Christmas presents for their children
The couple – whose children are aged between nine months and seven – say they are only left with £480 per month after rent has been taken out for their three-bed Liverpool home (left)
Speaking to MailOnline from their three-bedroom Liverpool home, Ryan said: ‘I only stopped working last year because I had suspected cancer. I’m still ill now. I have a lump in my stomach and another in my chest.
‘I’ve been applying for jobs constantly since I stopped working but they won’t take me on because I’ve got seven kids, they know if I got a phone call and had to leave for the kids I would because they are my main priority.’
Shelly Grattan, Ms Grimes’ mother, blasted Mr Rodgers for failing to support his children
Jenny, who had her first child when she was 17, said she does not believe in abortion and said they have only recently hit hard times.
‘Until recently our kids haven’t wanted for anything, they used to ask for something and they could have it, it’s only recently that I’ve not been able to do that’, she said.
‘Our cupboards are bare. We use food banks, we haven’t done a clothes shop for the kids in six months. I live in my pyjamas because it’s either feed the kids or buy myself some clothes that fit.’
The couple, whose seven children are aged between nine months and seven years-old, say they are so strapped for cash that they have resorted to food banks and charity handouts to feed their brood.
But Shelley Grattan, Jenny’s mother, warned people not to contribute, calling Mr Rodgers a ‘feckless father’ who would spend all the money raised on cigarettes and alcohol.
‘Ryan is a feckless liar who is trying to con the public into giving him money which he will just pour down his throat,’ she said.
‘No one should give him any money as he has a drink problem and that’s where it will all go. He will spend it all on booze.
Mr Rodgers and Ms Grimes, who are engaged and had their first child when she was 17 insist that the cash will go to their children and even said that they would donate funds to charity
‘Anyone who has donated to the GoFundMe page should ask for their money back. He is conning the public with a sob story that is not true.’
But today Mr Rodgers, the son of a police officer, hit back at his family and said they had been subjected to online abuse and threatening messages.
He claimed he worked until last year when a cancer scare forced him to give up his job.
Rodgers did not produce any medical documents to prove he was having treatment.
The tattooed dad blamed the Government’s benefits cap for their dire situation and on the GoFundMe page said they were ashamed to beg for money.
Jenny’s mum Shelly called her ‘son in law’ a feckless father who put drink ahead of his family
She said people who had donated money should get a refund and urged others to avoid giving her daughter and son-in-law any more cash.
Mr Rodgers hit back at his mother-in-law and said: ‘We expected people to react like they have to be honest but we hoped that people might have a bit more respect and see that we are trying to do something good.
Mr Rodgers hit back at his mother-in-law’s claims that he doesn’t want to work and said he only quit a job last year because he had a cancer scare and found a lump in his stomach
‘The money from GoFundMe isn’t just for us. Obviously we want to try and get the things we need like clothes and food and Christmas presents for the kids but we want to give back to charity as well and help other families who are in similar situations to ours.’
Jenny said comments from her mother and sister Jojo Grimes about Mr Rodger’s drink and drugs problems were false.
She said: ‘Our own family is commenting and telling people that Ryan is an alcoholic, he used to have a problem with drink but he’s not drunk for ages.
Mr Rodgers, pictured far left drinking beer with friends, is a self-confessed alcoholic, but says claims by Jenny mother that he smokes cannabis are ‘ridiculous’
‘People are also suggesting things about drugs which is ridiculous, I’ve not touched a drug in my life and I wouldn’t let anything like that anywhere near my kids. I think drugs are disgusting.
‘We are good parents who are on benefits, receiving the most minimal amount of money from the government, we can’t survive on just this.’
Before the benefits cap was introduced the pair received £2,100 a month.
But with the limit in force they now only receive £480 a month in Universal Credit after their rent and a loan is deducted.