Shocking new figures show ‘modern day slavery’ of vulnerable UK human trafficking victims is on the rise across Greater Manchester.

In 2013 the number of potential victims of human trafficking of UK citizens within the country is believed to have more than doubled to 193.

Senior police and charities have warned that Greater Manchester is now a hotbed for trafficking with dozens of people being brought into the region to work as slaves.

They are often made to work as labourers or in restaurants.

The figures have emerged as one victim reveals to the M.E.N. how he was trafficked across the country, forced to live in a caravan, regularly beaten and fed on scraps while being forced to work 12-hour days.

Caroline Young, head of protective operations in the organised crime command of the National Crime Agency, told the M.E.N: “This is an emerging problem in so far as we are spotting more of it. The statistics are showing that for the first time ever, quarter on quarter, trafficking for labour is coming up higher than sex trafficking.

“A significant proportion of those victims are UK citizens who have been picked up and exploited and they are usually vulnerable men.

“The risk has always existed but we are seeing more because we are getting better at spotting it.

“People have been spotted and identified as victims of human trafficking.”

She said Manchester would be a likely target for criminals looking to traffic vulnerable people.

She explained: “Cities like Manchester are at risk because you get a conglomoration of homeless people.

“Through virtue of people being somewhat displaced in society they aren’t missed and for any number of reasons they are vulnerable. Those people who wish to exploit them are able to do so.”

She said they work closely with shelters and homeless associations to try to make people aware of the risks.

A key area is educating society to spot potential victims.

She added: “It’s good that we are getting people into the national referral mechanism and spotting it and doing something about it but it would be best if there were no victims.

“This is a crime, we will pursue it and it’s important that people do report it. This is a heinous crime, the exploitation of people, particularly when they are vulnerable. This is modern day slavery.”

The shock figures means the UK is third to Romania and Poland for the country of origin of trafficking victims who end up in this country.

And this year, for the first time ever, the number of all trafficking victims receiving support after being exploited for labour outweighs victims of sexual exploitation. And experts acknowledge the figures do not cover all those cases which go undiscovered.

Last year, 18 per cent of the total UK citizen victims were exploited for labour.

Of these, 79 per cent were exploited by the ‘UK traveller community’.

And many of these were the ‘invisible’ victims, society’s most vulernable - the homeless.

Preyed upon by groups of men and even families, they are promised paid work, food and shelter only to be locked up and made to work for scraps.

Carol Price, development manager at homeless charity Barnabus in Manchester city centre, says they are now regularly encountering victims of labour exploitation.

She said: “We do encounter those who are promised work over here and thought they had jobs to come to, but in reality they are in shared accommodation working really long hours and not being paid.

“We also get those who are from here and are picked up on the streets. This has been happening for a while.

“It’s a very sad predatory thing that people are doing, They are seeing people at their absolute bottom and thinking they can take advantage of that. We have seen it in Manchester and we are very aware that it goes on.”

Forced labour in the UK, 2013

Labour/paving: 77 or 10 per cent

Restaurant/bar: 7 or 1 per cent

Other: 80 or 11 per cent

Multiple: 4 or 1 per cent

Maritime: 24 or 3 per cent

Food industry: 56 or 8 per cent

Factory: 41 or 6 per cent

Construction: 53 or 7 per cent

Car wash: 30 or 4 per cent

Agricultural: 73 or 10 per cent

Unknown: 298 or 40 per cent

'I tried to leave - that's when I got my first beating'

DURING his horrific three-month ordeal, Phil, 37, was locked in a caravan with no water or electricity, subjected to beatings, fed on scraps and forced to work 12-hour days.

He is one of an emerging breed of invisible victims - homeless people picked up on the promise of a job, food and shelter only to be forced into labour exploitation.

Disconnected from loved ones and largely untraceable, the homeless have become a prime target for those looking to exploit the vulnerable.

Phil, who is now sleeping rough in and around Manchester Airport, has bravely spoken of his ordeal to raise awareness of this modern slavery - and warn other vulnerable people that if an offer seems too good to be true, it usually is.

“I was in Oldham with my partner before we spent a few years travelling around Europe together, where I worked as a holiday camp entertainer and later a rep.

“But when we moved back to England in November last year, the relationship broke down.

“It just didn’t work out, we separated and our place was in her name. Work as a promoter quickly ran out, my savings dried up very quickly and I ended up on the street at the end of June this year.

“When I was picked up I was approached by two men who I can only describe as ‘travellers’.

“They asked if I wanted to come away and do some work, to get off the street. They said they would pay me £60 to £80 a day.

“They said it would be field work, block paving - it sounded like a lifeline.

"You would basically get up at 5am, get to a job at 6am then be there for 12 hours.

“I was doing everything from laying cement to weeding to putting patios down and paving.

“There was always someone sitting in the van watching you so running away wasn’t a possibility.

“I was often locked in a caravan, there were about four of us, it was tiny. They would put dogs outside guarding us.

“There was no electricity, no running water. We were fed occasionally, with leftovers.

“You might get a sandwich if you working and if you were lucky.”

“I tried to leave after a few days because I didn‘t like it but that’s when I got my first hiding.

“If you tried to leave or the job wasn’t done properly you were beaten. Sometimes you were beaten because they were bored, or just for the silliest of reasons. You couldn’t reason with them, they wouldn’t listen.

“Luckily, the site was raided about three months later when police executed a warrant on one of its residents for an unrelated matter.

“The police asked if we wanted to be there and we said no so we were released and put in safe houses.

“Even though I’m free and away from it there are still a lot of people on the sites that need help.

“The public also need to know that trafficking isn’t just about women brought in from abroad for the sex trade, it is actually happening on our own doorstep, it’s happening to UK people.

“Homeless people can disappear easily and nobody comes looking for us.

“People in cities like Manchester are particularly at risk, there are so many homeless people on the streets that it’s easy pickings.

“I was homeless for the first time in the summer, I was naive, but now I’ve spoken to people in shelters I know that nobody ever accepts offers of work or shelter from these people - they know they will end up a prisoner like I was.”

Raising awareness of vulnerable victims

The National Crime Agency works with The Salvation Army to help trafficking victims find a safe house, counselling - and the strength to build a new life.

There are currently around 158 victims in safe houses while 245 are getting care across the country, with many of those in the Greater Manchester area.

Anne Read is the charity’s trafficking response coordinator - and she is keen to raise awareness of the vulnerable victims who are falling prey to human trafficking.

She said: “To those vulnerable groups a job offer which may seem very legitimate and the opportunity they have been looking for might not be all it seems.

“In its worst case scenario, someone could find themselves not just tricked but then trapped in a situation they can’t get out of. This is modern day slavery.”

She said: “I’m not sure if it’s a growing problem or we are getting better at identifying victims - I like to think it is the second one.

She says this could be, in part, down to an increased awareness of what amounts to exploitation.

There are currently 27 safe houses across England and Wales for victims of human trafficking.

The Salvation Army’s 24-hour confidential Referral Helpline on 0300 3038151 available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.