‘Extremely sad and serious’: Police find man ‘kept as slave’ in shed for 40yrs
A potential victim of modern slavery has been rescued from a six-foot shed, where it’s believed he has been kept in captivity for the past four decades.
The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) in conjunction with Cumbria Police rescued the 58-year-old man on October 3 after receiving an anonymous tip via a confidential helpline.
“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,” Martin Plimmer from the GLAA said, as quoted by The Metro UK.
“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.”
The man is being treated by specialist trauma officers who are assessing both his mental and physical condition.
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Meanwhile, a 79-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of modern slavery, but has been released pending further investigation. It is believed the victim began his incarceration at the age of 18 in 1978.
“There was no heating and it was very cold. It was conditions that no human being should live in,” Plimmer added. “This, I think, could be the longest period of captivity that we have dealt with. It’s an extremely sad and serious case.”
The Global Slavery Index estimates that one in 500, or a total of 136,000 people in the UK, are victims of modern slavery, up from British government figures of 13,000 in 2013.
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