Slaver: Tommy Connors, 54, pictured, was the leader of a vicious slave gang and has been jailed for eight years for his crimes
The man, now 40 years old, was lured to a campsite with the promise of food, lodging and £80 pay for every day's work.
But his would-be saviour, 54-year-old Tommy Connors, soon proved himself a brutish slave-driver, who refused to give him a fair wage for his forced labour.
He even went as far as threatening his captives with murder should his captives flee.
Though the victim cannot be named for legal reasons, his case is not unique - there are an estimated 6,000 other slaves held in the UK today in equally dire conditions.
The man, one of 24 victims held on a filthy campsite in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire - one for 15 years - had his head shaved, was crammed into a tiny caravan and forbidden from even using the toilet.
He and the others - including people with mental illnesses - had their possessions taken and were told 'your family is dead to you now'. Instead, they were made to call Connors and his wife 'Ma and Pa'.
In his desperation, the man defied his captors' threats and fled, and told police of his ordeal.
Abuse: Connors and his family forced a gang of
'vulnerable' men to work 19-hour days after picking them up from soup
kitchens and the streets
'Cold, hard exploiters': James John Connors
(left) and wife Josie (right), who are cousins, were jailed for 11
and four years respectively
Desperate: Thousands are being kept in squalid conditions like those depicted in this campaign image (posed by actors)
Action: The Home Office has launched a campaign
to raise awareness of the issue and highlight the plight of slaves in
the UK (posed by actor)
The family of travellers has now also been ordered to pay back more than £2million in money gained from their crimes - which allowed them to live the life of luxury while keeping their 'slaves' in abject poverty.
A judge at Bristol Crown Court handed the family members court orders demanding they pay back £2.25 million or face up to a further six years behind bars.
They were told: 'Conditions were squalid and at times they were starving. [One slaver] said if he used the toilets in their caravan she would break his arms and legs.'
The 40-year-old said: 'I didn't like it, but they said I couldn't leave and said if I tried to leave... I would get murdered.'
Following the trial, Connors and his family were given prison terms totalling 30 years.
But while the Connors family languish behind bars, criminals like them continue to operate across the nation. Slavery can conjure images of shackles and chains - but it is more often
threats, or the illusion of debt binding victims to their keepers.
Sex
slavery is the most frequent fate for slaves, but domestic servitude,
factory work, agriculture and manual labour are also common.
Victims found here come from many different countries, including Romania, Albania, Nigeria, Vietnam and the UK itself.
For men, forced labour is most common, while overwhelmingly women who are captured are exploited for sex.
More than ninety per cent of the 581 reported cases of adult trafficking for sexual purposes last year were women.
One victim, from Gambia, told how she was locked away in her room, with no natural light.
Her only contact with the outside world was a succession of men whom she was drugged too heavily to resist.
A quarter of all slavery victims are children, many of whom are also preyed on sexually.
With
reports of slavery on the
increase (reported cases were up 47 per cent in 2013 from 2012), and
convictions numbers still relatively low, the Government has proposed
new laws to fight the
problem.The Modern Slavery Bill, which is moving through Parliament at the moment, will bring in life sentences for slavers.
It will also protect slaves from being charged with crimes their masters made them commit, and require public bodies to report suspected slavery to help secure more convictions.
Squalor: The men had their heads shaved, were forced to wash in cold water, and had to use the toilet outside
Cramped conditions: The above photograph shows the places where the men were forced to live in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire
Anne Read, who works for the Salvation Army's anti-trafficking team, said: 'Throughout the three years The Salvation Army has been supporting adult victims of trafficking in England and Wales, the number of people referred to us has continued to rise significantly.
'With our partners we work with these vulnerable and often deeply traumatised people to start their long journey to recovery.'
'We all owe it to these victims to crack down on human trafficking.'
Worked: Domestic servitude is another common reason people are enslaved
Widespread: Government figures show that 1,746 instances of potential slavery were reported in 2013
FROM KEEPING STRANGE HOURS TO REFUSING TO MAKE EYE CONTACT: SIGNS YOU COULD BE LIVING AMONG VICTIMS OF MODERN SLAVERY
Slavery comes in many forms, people who show some of the signs below could be victims of slavery:
- The person has no access to a passport/travel documents
- They let other people speak for them, or act like they have been coached
- Somebody always arrives to drop them off and collect them from work - often at odd times
- He or she seems frightened, withdrawn or avoids eye contact
- The person is paid nothing, or very little, and has no control over their money
- He or she is often exhausted, hurt, hungry or sick
- Threats have been made to hurt them if they leave
- The person believes they are totally dependent on their bosses
- If you believe somebody is a victim of modern slavery, you can contact the police on 101 or 999 if it is an emergency, report it online at modernslavery.co.uk, or contact the government's Modern Slavery helpline on 0800 0121 700
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