A widow has won her 11-month battle to be classed as a single person for benefits.

Mary Legarde has lived with Jim Dennison for almost seven years, each owning half of their home in Cranford Close, Frinton.

They have separate bedrooms, share the bills and are just good friends.

But when she applied for the new pension Credit last year she was refused as she was deemed not to be single.

The first decision came from the Norwich pension centre and another centre upheld the view. But when her appeal went before an independent tribunal of one person at Colchester she finally won the day.

Mrs Legarde said: "I was told that I was right and could be assessed as a single person, which is what I had claimed should happen all along. That decision was made on all the information that was already available and nothing new was introduced into the appeal.

"After all, the situation was very much the same, and very much in common with youngsters going to university where different sexes share a premises to keep down costs."

Mrs Legarde said it was a victory for common sense.

Published Tuesday August 17, 2004