'Britain's Got Talent' Star's Disability Payback

Tuesday 13th October 2009 - 13:00:30

'Britain's Got Talent' star Fred Bowers must pay back thousands of pounds of benefits.

The 74-year-old breakdancer from Sutton Bonnington, near Loughborough, has been ordered to return £3,000 to the Department of Work and Pensions after officials saw him performing on the talent show.

Fred - who was receiving a £50-a-month Motability allowance, which is usually used to fund a wheelchair or scooter - insisted he had not tried to defraud the benefits system.

I was overpaid but it was a mistake by the social. I'm not a benefits cheat. I'd never do anything dishonest. I always said I'd pay back anything I owed.

He said: "I was overpaid but it was a mistake by the social. I'm not a benefits cheat. I'd never do anything dishonest. I always said I'd pay back anything I owed."

The pensioner, who reached the semi-finals of the competition, will take five years to clear his debt.

However, Fred is not thought to be upset by losing the money, revealing he is in negotiations to appear on a German TV show.

He said: "I still feel I have a lot of dancing left in me."