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A huge crowd of migrant flower pickers gathered outside Camborne police station to protest over a modern slavery raid on their farm which resulted in the arrest of their boss.

At least 100 workers from Romania and Lithuania arrived in minibuses and cars and descended on the station on Thursday night after their farm was raided in the early hours of the morning.

The gang - only a few of whom spoke English - said they wanted to know why their boss had been arrested and were prepared to spend the night outside the station until he was released.

(Image: Greg Martin)

Police swooped on Bosahan Farm, near Manaccan, Helford, at around 6am on Thursday morning and arrested two local men, aged 61 and 41, on suspicion of modern slavery and another, aged 49, for alleged gang master licence offences.

Around 200 migrant workers, employed in picking flowers, were on the site at the time and of those, 14 requested assistance in leaving the site and were taken to a reception centre.

On Thursday night, Cornwall Live arrived at Camborne police station just as several minibuses full of workers drove into the car park at around 8.30pm and the group gathered outside the front door.

(Image: Greg Martin)

Marin Alina-Florentina, from Romania, as one of the few fluent English speakers, spoke on behalf of the group who said all worked and lived in caravans on the farm.

She said: "Our boss has been arrested and we think he has done nothing wrong. We have very good conditions. I've been working here for four years. If it was bad I wouldn't work here, we wouldn't bring our friends and families here."

(Image: Greg Martin)

She said the group all worked picking flowers and each day they would work anywhere between 7 and 9-hour days, depending on the weather.

"We stay on the farm. Without our boss we don't have any work. We've not been told anything. We just know the boss is under arrest."

One of the men was released by police at around 10pm and as he left the police station without speaking to the press, the group quickly dispersed.

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Detective Inspector Gail Windsor, speaking from the scene of the raid earlier on Thursday, said: “We’ve visited approximately 200 migrant workers this morning, a mixture of Romanian and Lithuanian, and out of that 14 asked for assistance in leaving the site.

“They have been taken to a reception centre where there is Salvation Army, Police, NHS, Cornwall Council and the Red Cross.

“There people will be interviewed and assessed for their needs and whether any criminal offences have taken place.

(Image: BBC Cornwall)

“Our understanding is that these are seasonal workers and that the season is between January and Easter. We believe they’ve been recruited in their native countries.

“Over the last couple of weeks we had information that made us concerned about the people working on this site and the conditions they were living and working in.”

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A representative of Bosaran and Halvose farm, operating which operates under the name R H Scrimshaw and Sons, declined to comment on the raid.

What is modern slavery?

Modern slavery is a crime, defined by the Modern Slavery Act 2015. It is work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the person has not offered him or herself voluntarily.

It means victims are forced to work against their will, often working very long hours for little or no pay in dire conditions under verbal or physical threats of violence to them or their families.

It can also include women forced into prostitution as well as people forced to work in agriculture, domestic work or factories. Workers are often isolated by their lack of language and understanding of the laws on employment.

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A spokesman for the National Farmers’ Union said the issue was taken extremely seriously in the agricultural industry.

He said: “The NFU fully supports measures aimed at reducing the number of incidents of slavery and exploitation in the UK. Agriculture is one of the only industries with its own government body set up expressly to regulate labour use – the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).

“It is a legal requirement for farmers to use labour providers which are licensed by the GLAA and, as such, comply with all the relevant standards.”

Derek Thomas, the MP whose constuancy covers the Lizard peninsula, said: “The modern slavery act provides police and other agencies with the tools they need to ensure that people who are coming from abroad are safe and not mistreated.

"While we don’t know exactly what the circumstances in Manaccan are, the police would not have acted in this way if there was not an issue with what these men and women experienced, and how their freedoms were being restricted.

“I know, having met a large number of migrant workers and their employers, that the large majority will be very happy here, well supported and potentially earning good money. This is almost certainly an isolated incident.”

What will happen to the workers now?

Cornwall Council is providing welfare and support for the 14 people who have elected to seek help through a process called the National Referral Mechanism, which is applied in circumstances like this which means that potential victims are offered support.

The council, working with partners including the police, Cornwall Housing, British Red Cross, The Salvation Army and health services, is providing support while this process is underway.

The twelve men and two women, believed to be aged between 20 and 40, asked for additional support and have been taken to a safe location by minibus. They are Lithuanian and Romanian speakers.

A spokeswoman for Cornwall Council said: “The people being supported are not in trouble and they are not being detained. They are free to leave at any time but will be encouraged to take up the offers of help that are available.

“All agencies are working together to help the alleged victims over the next 72 hours, after which an assessment will be carried out to decide next steps.”

She said the council would work to offer them temporary and safe accommodation, any medical treatment and a link to other work opportunities.

Other local farms had come forward to offer alternative employment should people want it, showing strong community support, the spokeswoman added.

The police are continuing their investigations and will decide in due course if the men are to be charged over the alleged offences.

If anyone suspects modern slavery, if there is an immediate risk of harm, call the Police on 999 or contact the Modern Slavery Helpline on 0800 0121 700.