'Too fat to work' 32 stone woman earns more than a nurse's salary - in benefits

Too fat to work: Rochelle Coulson gets £18,000 a year in benefits

 jobless 32-stone woman who claims she can't work because of her weight lives off£18,000 a year in benefits - more than a nurse's salary.

Morbidly obese Rochelle Coulson, who has not worked in five years, claims she can't get a job because her weight makes her fall asleep throughout the day.

The 21-year-old suffers from sleep apnoea - a condition linked to obesity - which she says makes her a danger to the public.

After being diagnosed in December 2012, she claims she can drop off to sleep for up to six hours per day.

But Ms Coulson, who has put on a whopping 13 stone in just four years by eating through "boredom", rakes in £18,712 in benefits - the equivalent of a £22,000 taxable annual salary.

It's also equal to the salary of a newly qualified teacher.

She told MailOnline: "I would love to have a job, I didn't choose to be like this. But I can't. I'm too dangerous. I can't do anything if I'm falling asleep the whole time."

Ms Coulson, from New Milton, Hampshire, said she has always battled with her weight but it spiralled out of control when she moved out four years ago.

Unable to get a job due to being signed off with depression, she started eating up to ten packs of crisps a day and binging on takeaways.

Too fat to work: Rochelle Coulson gets £18,000 a year in benefits

But, after being told by doctors she must lose weight, Ms Coulson, who is 5ft 6in, said she wants a state-funded support worker to help her write meal plans.

She has also been offered half-price gym membership by the NHS to help her lose weight but says she cannot use it because it is too painful to walk.

Ms Coulson added: "I do feel there is more out there to help me and the NHS could have done better."

In total, Ms Coulson gets £411 in Personal Independence Payment a month, as well as £260 Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) a fortnight.

Her £135 a week rent is also covered through housing benefit.

Her story has sparked criticism from pressure group the Taxpayers' Alliance, which has warned that the benefit system should not become a "comfort blanket" and that people should "get themselves in shape" to work.

But today Ms Coulson has hit back, posting a video on YouTube.

On the video, she says: "I was taught never to judge a book by its cover because, if you do, you'll never know the truth inside that book.

"People say 'you're fat, you're ugly' but I don't care about my looks.

"People day in, day out tell me 'you're fat and you need to lose weight' but don't you think I already know that?"