Being a dad means protecting, providing, and making sure your kids feel safe. But what happens when the system you rely on fails?
Phillip Herron’s story isn’t just heartbreaking — it’s a shocking reminder of what can happen when a struggling parent is left alone with debt, anxiety, and silence from those who were supposed to help.
A source of hardship
Phillip Herron, a factory worker and devoted single father of three from Durham, England, had just $6 in his bank account when he took his own life in 2019.
He was only 34 years old.
The reason? He was forced to wait weeks for his first Universal Credit payment — a wait that proved too long, too cruel, and too devastating.
Universal Credit is a UK government welfare program designed to replace six older benefits with a single monthly payment. It’s meant to simplify the welfare system and encourage people to find work. But for many, it’s become a source of hardship.
Like so many others struggling to make ends meet, Phillip Herron was drowning in debt when he quietly applied for Universal Credit — never telling his family just how bad things had gotten.
The 34-year-old father was out of work and barely managing to feed or dress his kids. He was falling behind on rent and buried under nearly $25,000 in debt —including payday loans charging outrageous interest rates of over 1,000%.
”The final straw”
Like countless others, turned to the UK’s Universal Credit system for help. What he got instead was silence, delays, and mounting debt.
Universal Credit, rolled out by the UK government in 2013, was pitched as a streamlined benefits system. But behind the political promises is a darker reality. New claimants must wait five weeks — at minimum — before receiving any money. For those already in crisis, it’s a deadly delay.
“When people ask for help, they’re already desperate,” Philip’s mother, Sheena Derbyshire said. “Making them wait this long? It’s dangerous.”
For Philip, the waiting and pressure became too much to bear.
“There’s no reason it should take so long. Phillip already had problems but I think this was the final straw,” Sheena said.
A total shock for his family
Just hours before his death, Phillip posted a heartbreaking selfie of himself in tears from inside his car. Alongside it, a goodbye note.
The next day, on a quiet country road, he ended his life.
His mother, Sheena Derbyshire, was blindsided. “It was a total shock,” she told the Daily Mirror. “We had no idea how bad things had gotten. In his note, he wrote that the family would be better off without him. That broke me.”
After his death, Sheena discovered the whole truth: Phillip was drowning in debts to banks and utility companies. His home was on the brink of repossession. An eviction notice was buried in his paperwork.
Sheena combed through his emails and voice notes. The voice messages were especially brutal. “Listening to them,” she said, “was the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever done.”
His children were also shattered. ”The youngest keeps dreaming about him,” Sheena said softly. “She said she saw him. She begged him not to go. But when she woke up, he was gone.”
None of the children received therapy, according to Sheena.
The public outcry has also been fierce. Social media exploded with grief and rage when the tragic story of Philip became known. One post summed it up: “Now another dead on their blood-soaked hands.” Another read: “You should hang your head in shame,” aimed at the Department for Work and Pensions.
Why she speaks about it
Sheena believes that speaking out about her son’s suicide and its devastating impact on their family could help others who might be struggling in silence.
She said: “You don’t just go out one day and take your own life. There’s a build-up.
“So please, please talk to someone. Don’t let another family go through this. If you can’t talk to family or friends, there are people like Samaritans.”
Back in 2019, Sheena hoped the evidence she found would be used in a full inquest into Phillip’s death in Sacriston, Co Durham, and reveal the flaws of Universal Credit. However, it was unclear if she received any justice in the case.
In response to the tragedy, a spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions stated: “Our thoughts are with Mr. Herron’s family.
“Suicide is a very complex issue, so it would be wrong to link it solely to someone’s benefit claim.
“We are committed to safeguarding vulnerable claimants and keep guidance under constant review to provide the highest standard of protection.”
Not an isolated story
Sadly, Phillip’s story is not isolated. His death is just one of many that is being link to UK’s Universal Credit system, according to WSWS.org.
In 2019, Stephen Smith, a chronically ill man weighing only six stone, was declared “fit to work” and died shortly after.
The same year, Joy Worrall, an 81-year-old retiree, tragically took her own life by jumping into a quarry after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) froze her pension benefits, leaving her with only $6 to her name.
The inquest revealed that she was “too proud” to share her financial struggles with her family, choosing to live off her savings. When those savings ran out, and she was down to just $6, she took the heartbreaking decision to jump into a 40-foot quarry. And Martin John Counter, 60, took his own life after being wrongly accused of benefit fraud.
Phillip’s final months paint a portrait of a man doing everything he could to hold on— for his children, for his sanity, for a life that was being pulled out from under him.
Sadly, he felt that the bureaucracy ignored him, and it became fatal. Finally, his devastated mother, Sheena, has a plea for the British authorities:
“If this doesn’t change,” she said, “he won’t be the last.”
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