A husband and wife who “brutally manipulated and exploited” destitute men by forcing them into servitude have been jailed for 11 years and four years respectively.

An Irish Traveller couple who “brutally manipulated and exploited” destitute men by forcing them into servitude in Britain were today jailed for 11 years and four years respectively.

Four members of a Traveller family in Britain have been found guilty of forcing destitute men into servitude.

Four members of an Irish Traveller family have today been found guilty in Britain of servitude and forced labour.

Men who said they were kept as slaves on a Travellers’ site escaped by jumping into a canal, hiding in a back garden, and confiding in a community service officer, a British jury has heard.