David Daniel Doran, aged 42, had been on trial for the past three weeks on a compulsory labour charge alongside his father Dan Doran, 67.

But Doran junior changed his plea - resulting in the prosecution dropping the case against the elder defendant.

The court has previously heard that missing Kidderminster man Darrell Simester was found in an 'appalling' state on Cariad Farm near Newport, south Wales, last year.

The former warehouse worker said he worked 15-hour days without pay and was made to live in a rat-infested shed for a decade.

His parents Jean and Tony said their 44-year-old son looked more like a man in his nineties and later found he had a massive hernia protruding from his groin.

During the trial Mr Simester was described as 'timid' and 'easily led'.

He was last seen by his parents in 2000 while working for a local couple called Sue and Jimmy Loveridge. The jury was told the pair had 'a reputation' in the Kidderminster area and Mr Simester was terrified of them.

While living with the Loveridges, Mr Simester said he was forced to sleep in their garden shed as well as hand over almost all of his £120 weekly wages.

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However, he fled the Loveridges while holidaying with them in Porthcawl, South Wales, and decided to walk back home.

It was on a dual carriageway during his journey home on foot that his path crossed with that of the Dorans.

After accepting a lift from one of their relatives, he was taken to Cariad Farm in Peterstone - which was mostly run by Doran Junior.

The jury heard that for the first 10 years he slept in a shed, where he said rats were 'scratching the door every night'.

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"I had no bedding ... I would keep warm with a jacket," he had said in his evidence. "I felt rough."

He also said the only toilet he had use of was broken and he would have to get rid of his excrement using a stick and bucket of water.

Mr Simester added that he never owned a toothbrush while there and could only wash himself in an animal feeding trough using washing liquid.

The court heard that initially Mr Simester stayed in touch with his parents - who would receive three or four phone calls from him via a withheld number.

But when the calls suddenly stopped in 2008, Jean and Tony Simester contacted missing persons charities as well as launching a Facebook campaign.

After being told that their son was in the Cardiff area, the couple issued a plea for information in local newspapers.

It prompted a reader to get in touch - and led Mr Simester's parents along with his brother Duncan to the gates of Cariad Farm last February.

Prosecutor Mr Hipkin told the court the case had been a very complex one.

"When considering the case - in consultation with the Simester family and the higher level of chief prosecutors - the Crown have reached the decision we will not be seeking a verdict against the first defendant (Doran Senior)."

Defending QC Nick Barraclough said Doran Junior denied forcing Mr Simester to work at his farm through the use of threats or violence.

However, a guilty plea was submitted on the basis that Doran Junior 'ought to have known' the farm labourer's duties were not voluntarily performed.

After telling Doran Senior he was free to go, Judge Bidder released Doran Junior on bail ahead of sentencing on October 24, adding: "He (Doran Junior) should be under no illusions about the sentence ... and the likelihood of it being a custodial one."