Thousands of children and teenagers are rescued from slavery around Britain every year, but few of their captors ever face justice.

Just six per cent of crimes reported to police under the Modern Slavery Act led to prosecutions since it was introduced in 2015, figures show.

Slaves reported jumped 66 per cent last year to 5,145 on the previous year, with 41 per cent of them being under 18.

Thousands of children and teenagers are rescued from slavery around Britain every year, but few of their captors ever face justice

Many children are recruited from impoverished countries with the promise of Premier League trials and instead forced into servitude, The Times found.

Families paid thousands of pounds to send their sons with traffickers because of the promise of lucrative football careers.

'They were expecting to play for some of the best football teams in the country,' UK anti-slavery commissioner Kevin Hyland said.

'But they were just lured on that promise and then when they arrived were exploited in many ways, whether that be sexual exploitation or forced labour.'

Gang ring-leader Roman Rafael, 33 trafficked vulnerable people from Slovakia to Newcastle

Left: Angelica Chec, 29 and Ruzena Rafaelova, 57 were also found guilty

Clubs including Tottenham Hotspur called police several times when teenagers showed up at stadiums believing they were selected for trials.

Others were lured with the promise of modelling contracts, then either forced into sexual slavery or made to work in nail salons or as domestic servants.

The promise of free holidays was another popular choice, with victims delivered to crime gangs as soon as they set foot in London.

Charities accused police of not properly investigating slavery reports and in some cases even suggesting children should return to their captors.

Ruzena Rafaelova Jr,37 (left) would order the victims to bring her food and drink while Juraj Rafael, 38 was also convicted of the same charges

'Police are still saying there is not enough evidence to prosecute or there is not enough money to investigate especially if they have to go abroad,' one said.

West Midlands police found 295 slaves in two years but only laid four charges, and Thames Valley police had 118 and only two charges.

Police said their were so many cases it was tough to prosecute them, and cross-border relations and reluctant victims made it even harder.

'People are either so coerced that they don't identify as victims or are so frightened they won't support a prosecution,' West Midlands Police said.