Traditional Turkish barber shops are using slave labour, the police officer behind the UK’s first child modern slavery prosecution has warned.

Detective inspector Charlotte Tucker said, “There are barber shops setting up now where people live above the shop and customers pay in cash. Owners are looking to exploit workers and make money.”

Barber shops join a growing list of industries suspected of adopting the practices of modern slavery, which can involve human trafficking, forced labour and sexual exploitation. Other places where slavery has been known to occur is at nail bars, car washes, clothing factories, cannabis farms and in the cleaning industry.

Barber shop wet shaves have become increasingly popular as the male grooming industry has taken off. DI Tucker urged men who use these services to look for signs of exploitation.

One indication of malpractice, she said, is “If you’re in a barbers and, when another customer arrives, a tired or disheveled barber comes downstairs to start working on them.”