TENS of thousands of benefit cheats across the Merseyside area will be trapped when a tough new “work test” is introduced next year, the government said yesterday.

Unveiling a dramatic squeeze on the jobless, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith hailed the impact of looming new rules to identify people wrongly claiming incapacity benefit (IB).

Mr Duncan Smith said the “work capability assessment” – a medical test designed to find claimants able to perform some tasks – had led to 36% of people withdrawing applications for sickness benefits.

And he told MPs: “The knowledge that you are likely to be assessed does have a stark effect on those who may be trying to defraud the system.

”It underlines the effect that this could have on those currently working, while claiming benefits.”

It was the first time Mr Duncan Smith has described people dropping applications for the new employment and support allowance (ESA) – the replacement for IB – as likely benefit cheats.

There are 115,000 IB claimants across Merseyside and North Cheshire. If 36% drop their applications for ESA, it would mean 41,000 people being forced to look for work – people currently classed as too sick to do so.