Man Who Kept Vulnerable Worker In 6ft Shed For 40 Years Sentenced

Peter Swailes Jr, who kept a vulnerable worker in a shed for 40 years, has been sentenced after pleading guilty to modern slavery.

It comes after specialist officers found a 58-year-old man during a raid of the residential site north of Carlisle back in 2018, following a tip-off to a confidential helpline. Both Swailes Jr., 56, and his father, Peter Swailes Sr, 81, were charged with the modern slavery conspiracy crime, however his dad passed away in September 2021.

This also came off the back of a three-year inquiry by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), supported by Cumbria Police and the National Crime Agency (NCA), with the case described as 'traumatic' by investigators.

Swailes Jr. has now been handed an 18-month suspected sentence, after admitting to conspiring to facilitate travel of another with a view to exploitation. He initially denied the charge, but decided to change his plea due to his 'limited' involvement with the victim and claiming he wasn't aware of his horrific living conditions.

The victim was forced to work on farms for barely any pay and sleep in a shed, Carlisle Crown Court earlier heard. He also has learning difficulties, and GLAA and NCA officers found him in the shed with no heating, a soiled duvet on the floor and a metered television.

Peter Swailes Jr. (Cumbria Police)

City Hearts, a modern slavery charity that is supporting Swailes' victim, who's been named only as Chris, said the man did not realise the 'severity of what had happened to him', BBC News reports.

Accommodation manager Kyle France also said he 'hadn't had a wash in a very, very long time' and required medical attention 'due to a number of fresh and old injuries that had been left untreated', adding that his condition 'showed a level of hatred that I just can't get my head around'.

The shed had no lights or heating. (GLAA)

Chris once broke his back and ribs after falling off a ladder. However, instead of letting the hospital treat his injuries, the pair discharged him themselves and 'dragged' him back to 'his life of drudgery', the charity said. 'I didn't run away, because I had nowhere else to go,' Chris also said, explaining he'd been encouraged to drink excessive alcohol so they could control him.

GLAA Senior Investigating Officer Martin Plimmer earlier praised the 'dedication and professionalism of [his] investigators', also saying he couldn't recount another case where 'the exploitation of a vulnerable worker has taken place over such a long period of time'.

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