The claim came after scores of protesters campaigned outside Clydebank Jobcentre last week to have their voices heard over the devastating impact that benefit sanctions are having on many of the town’s struggling residents.

Demonstrators also spoke of people they knew who had been driven to suicide after having their benefits suspended.

Other tales of those who had been hit hard after being sanctioned included a man who had his benefits stopped for 13 weeks after missing an appointment to attend his mother’s funeral, A pregnant mum also suffered the same fate after she was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment after collapsing in the street.

Many of those affected are now said to be so hard-up that they have been forced to turn to their family and friends for help. Ann Lynch, of Clydebank East Community Council, helped to organise the event, she said: “These benefit sanctions are unjust, they are immoral, and they’re very cruel. They’re treating people in such an abysmal and dehumanising way.

“The situation has come to a cross roads, it’s bad enough having to live on miserable benefits, but to have to beg for them and be told you’re not getting benefits is disgraceful.” Fellow community council member, Joe Henry, added: “A lot of families are left to pick up the pieces. The family and friends of those being sanctioned approached us as the burden is becoming too much so we decided to do the protest.

“If somebody gets sanctioned then they have no money and their mothers and fathers are being forced to get them through this period. There’s no system to help families like that and there’s no safety net.

“If their families didn’t feed these people I dread to think what would be happening.

“The protest is just to highlight what’s happening and how unfair and wrong it all is. We want to show that people do care and at the end of the day some people do realise the plight of these people.” Benefit sanctions mean a claimant’s payments are cut if they are deemed not to have done enough to try and find employment or alternatively fail to meet other requirements such as missing prearranged Jobcentre meetings.

Referrals for sanctions are made on an individual basis and the ultimate decision is made by an independent decision maker based on the evidence provided although anyone who is sanctioned also has the right to appeal the decision.

Following last week’s protest a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokesman said sanctions are a last resort.

He added: “The benefits system is there as a safety net for people at times of need and supports millions of people who are on low incomes or unemployed. People who are in genuine need can apply for hardship payments. If someone disagrees with a decision made on their claim, they can appeal.

“Sanctions are only used as a last resort, but it’s only right that people claiming benefits should do everything they can to find work, if they are able. We make it clear to people at the start of their claim what the rules are and that they risk losing their benefits if they don’t play by them.”