Hungarian Alex Breier was jailed for five years and 10 months after being found guilty of using physical violence and psychological threats to sell vulnerable women as sex slaves in Manchester.

Breier, 41, arranged for three young women to be trafficked with the help of his wife, sister, son-in-law and his son and daughter.

Bolton Crown Court heard that Breier exerted control over the women by threatening to tell police of their lives as prostitutes. He also conspired with his family to maintain their "nightmare existence".

Detective Chief Inspector Rick Jackson, based at Bolton, said: "I want to paint a damning picture of exactly what Alex Breier is really like.

"For three years he forced women into a penniless life of sexual slavery and servitude. He would beat these women if they did not obey him, controlling them physically and psychologically to the point where they felt powerless to free themselves from his violent grip.

"It is that power, that control, that makes it possible for young women to be trafficked into the UK and prostituted against their will.

"One incident really sticks in my mind. At one point, Breier told the girls he would report them to police for working as a prostitute if they did not obey him. It may seem astonishing but such was their fear and insecurity that this 'threat' had the desired effect.

"What makes this even more galling is that the entire family conspired together to control the lives of these girls. I can't begin to imagine what a nightmare existence they lived through, virtually destitute, repeatedly beaten and living day-to-day in fear."