Man avoids jail after vulnerable victim found living in shed in Carlisle

A man who exploited a vulnerable victim found living in a squalid shed has walked free from court.

On Friday, Peter Swailes Jr, 56, was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court to a nine-month jail term, suspended for 18 months.

The victim had been "used and exploited" for 40 years while living with the defendant's father Peter Swailes Snr, the court heard.

He was made to live in a horse box, a disused caravan and more recently in a shed on a residential site north of Carlisle.

The Crown accepted the defendant's guilty plea last month to conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of another with a view to exploitation on the basis he was unaware of the victim's living conditions.

Peter Swailes Snr, 80, who died last year while awaiting trial, had denied the offence.

The charges came following a three-year investigation by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, supported by Cumbria Police and the National Crime Agency, after a man was found living in a 6ft shed with no lighting and a soiled duvet on the floor.

The victim received specialist help after he was rescued and now lives in supported accommodation outside Cumbria.

Barbara Webster, prosecuting, said: "When (the victim) was around 18 years of age, he was approached by Mr Swailes Senior, and invited to work with him doing various jobs.

"He lived on the same site as Mr Swailes Senior. He had various accommodations, including a horse box, an old caravan, and in the last five years or so, and during this offending, the shed that we have heard so much about.

"The court will be aware that he lived in the shed next to the chalet of Mr Swailes, with no heating, no lighting and no flooring.

"In stark contrast, the family dog lived in much more comfortable surroundings."

Miss Webster said the victim had a low IQ and "very little understanding of the world around him".

She went on: "He was found by the police living in a rotten shed, with water pouring through it, with a make-shift bed, and congealed vomit in the corner. Not the way that anyone would choose freely to live and not where he would be if he could have found himself better living accommodation.

"He had few possessions to show for his 40 years' hard work. He only had a wash bag, three second-hand coats, a few stained duvets, and CDs."

He lived with the Swailes family for many years after being in care as a child, with Swailes Snr telling him he was his "boss".

When he was not being made to work, Swailes Snr would order him to do chores such as painting the kitchen and cutting the grass.

He told the GLAA that he was used on a daily basis for menial tasks such as cleaning out stables, tarmacking, and working on roofs. On one occasion, he actually fell from a roof and sustained serious injuries, including five broken ribs.

In a nearby similar-sized shed to the victim's "accommodation", there was a fitted carpet, a light, a gas heater and the family dog.

Miss Webster said: "Peter Swailes Senior had a far better standard of living, an elaborate, carpeted home with expensive personal belongings. A palace by contrast to where (the victim) lived."

When officers attended the traveller site in October 2018, the victim told them he only received £10 a day for his work duties.

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