Police have rescued a suspected victim of modern slavery who has been living in a shed for 40 years. Officers from the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) found the 58-year-old man inside a six foot shed in Carlisle, Cumbria, with just a chair and soiled bedding. They believe the man had been made to carry out unpaid work since the age of 16 or 17. A 79-year-old male was arrested on suspicion of modern slavery offences.
Martin Plimmer from the GLAA said: “The information that was given to us was that he had been kept in the shed for a period of 40 years. “When we found him he was like a rabbit in headlights and very confused.
“He was just in the clothes he stood up in and where he was sleeping in the shed there was just a soiled duvet on the floor. “There was no heating and it was very cold. It was conditions that no human being should live in.”
Mr Plimmer said it was unclear whether the man had ever attempted to escape, and it would take some time for him to open up. “In my long career I’ve never come across anyone who has been held as a slave potentially for 40 years and this, I think, could be the longest period of captivity that we have dealt with. “It’s an extremely sad and serious case.” The discovery came after a call to a confidential police helpline. Cumbria Housing Department is also investigating possible health and safety breaches, was also involved.
iNews.co.uk
Martin Plimmer from the GLAA said: “The information that was given to us was that he had been kept in the shed for a period of 40 years. “When we found him he was like a rabbit in headlights and very confused.
“He was just in the clothes he stood up in and where he was sleeping in the shed there was just a soiled duvet on the floor. “There was no heating and it was very cold. It was conditions that no human being should live in.”
Mr Plimmer said it was unclear whether the man had ever attempted to escape, and it would take some time for him to open up. “In my long career I’ve never come across anyone who has been held as a slave potentially for 40 years and this, I think, could be the longest period of captivity that we have dealt with. “It’s an extremely sad and serious case.” The discovery came after a call to a confidential police helpline. Cumbria Housing Department is also investigating possible health and safety breaches, was also involved.
iNews.co.uk
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