Naked 'slave' bound in shed and told to eat dog food Published duration 11 January 2018

image caption The court was told John Anderson worked for James McPhee

A man was tied up naked in a shed for two days and told to eat dog food after fleeing from a member of a family he was working for, a jury has heard.

John Anderson, 43, told the High Court in Glasgow how he feared for his life after a young boy was ordered to light his petrol soaked body.

Mr Anderson, who worked for James McPhee, also said children came into the shed and urinated on him.

Mr McPhee and three other men deny 30 charges, which include slavery.

The allegations against James McPhee, 45, Robert McPhee, 65, Steven McPhee, 37 and John Miller, 38, span from 1992 to 2016.

Mr Anderson had been homeless in 1998 when he was offered labouring work by James McPhee.

He stayed on a caravan site and carried out jobs such as mono-blocking driveways.

Pick axe handle

But the witness told how Mr McPhee could be violent towards him "whenever he was unhappy".

The alleged assaults including being punched, kicked and hit with a pick axe handle.

Mr Anderson said he was scared to leave but went with another worker to a house in Paisley, Renfrewshire.

The trial heard James McPhee and his brother Steven found him hiding in a wardrobe.

When he left for a second time James McPhee tracked him down to a Cambridge pub after receiving a tip off.

The victim was then driven back to James McPhee's house in Larkhall, Lanarkshire.

Tank Commander

There he was introduced to Robert McPhee, who was nicknamed the Tank Commander.

The witness said: "James told me that it was time to meet his dad. I knew what he meant. I was to get a beating."

Mr Anderson said he was punched, kicked and hit with a broom in order to teach him a lesson.

He told the jury: "I thought I was going to die."

Mr Anderson was then put in a metal shed and told to strip.

He was then bound and left inside.

Doused in petrol

The court heard James McPhee came the next morning with a young child.

Mr Anderson said: "James asked was I hungry.

"He said that if I was hungry enough, I could eat the dog food.

"I did not get any water."

The trial heard Mr Anderson also had petrol poured over him from "head to toe".

The witness went on: "He told the boy to light the lighter and burn me.

"The boy lit it and came towards me.

"I was hysterical.

"I thought he was going to set fire to me.

"I pleaded 'don't do it'.

"I said: 'I won't do it again. I have learned my lesson'."

Mr Anderson also said two children under 10 came into the shed and urinated on him.

He told the court his ordeal lasted two days and left him "frightened and delirious."