MODERN slavery investigators found a vulnerable Carlisle man with learning difficulties living in a squalid damp shed next to the “palatial” chalet home of the man who exploited him for decades.

The victim – said to have a very low IQ – had known and worked for Peter Swailes Senior since he was 18 and at times lived in a horsebox and a disused caravan before moving to the 6ft square shed, which had neither heating nor lighting.

A dog owned by Swailes Senior was given better accommodation than that endured by the victim, living as it did in a nearby shed that was both carpeted and heated, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

The shocking details of the man’s exploitation over decades were outlined today in detail for the first time as a Judge Richard Archer sentenced the son of the man who prosecutors say was chiefly responsible for keeping the victim as a "modern day slave".

Peter Swailes Senior, who had denied wrongdoing, died before the case could come to trial.

But his son, Peter Swailes Junior, 56, was today sentenced for his part in the man’s exploitation.

Swailes Junior was given a nine month jail term suspended for 18 months.

Judge Archer accepted that the defendant had “limited responsibility” for what happened to the man and no knowledge of his living conditions.

Swailes Junior did, however, accept paying the man less than he was entitled for work that he did.

The judge also accepted that Swailes Junior had feared his father, described as “controlling.”

Outlining what investigators found at the Hadrian Park caravan park north of Carlisle, prosecutor Barbara Webster described the victim's appalling living conditions.

She said: "He had various accommodations, including a horsebox, 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 (Senior), with no heating, no lighting and no flooring. In stark contrast, the family dog lived in much more comfortable surroundings.”

The victim had little understanding of money or wages or taxes.

Ms Webster said: “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 accommodation.”

The prosecutor continued: “There was another shed, with the same dimensions as the one [the victim] lived in. It was in good condition and contained tools.

“The shed was dry inside with a fitted carpet, and a light to the outside. There was no sagging or evidence of any rot in the floor. It had a gas heater. That shed was for a small white dog which was present.”

Police and investigators from the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority raided the shed and the home of Swailes Senior on October 3, 2018. They found the victim in an unkempt state, wearing a jacket and jeans which were damp and he had traces of paint in his hair.

He told the police he was paid £10 a day for the work he did – which included high-level roof repair work and grass cutting – and he had only one set of clothes, and no savings and few possessions.

These comprised three old duvets, a wash bag, and a few CDs.

Judith McCullough, for Swailes Junior, said the defendant could now see that he should have done more to care for the victim but he had no knowledge of his living conditions in the shed.

“This defendant was shocked and angry to see the full picture,” she said.

As he passed sentence, Judge Archer said that the defendant was being sentenced on the basis that on a limited number of occasions he facilitated the man’s travel for work reasons and paid him “less than his minimum entitlement."

The judge accepted Swailes Junior was not responsible for the victim’s living conditions and had not kept him "as a slave for 40 years". He noted also that the defendant had left the family home as a teenager and he had not enjoyed a good relationship with his father.