Mother of autistic boy left with £10,000 debt after breaching DWP rules by £1.92 a week

Over five-year period Oksana Shahar - who cares for her son - was paid a small amount more than carer's allowance earnings limits allow

It was three weeks after Christmas when the bombshell letter arrived. Guy Shahar and his wife, Oksana, looked at each other in stunned disbelief.

They had followed the Guardian's investigation into the carer's allowance scandal that has left thousands of families with crippling debts and criminal records. Not once did they think they would join them.