'Slavery victim' fed on takeaway scraps, court told
- Published
One victim claims he was brought back to the Washingborough travellers' site after he ran away
A homeless man was held as a slave on a travellers' site and fed on scraps from takeaways meals, a court has heard.
Joseph Rooney, 45, of Washingborough, Lincolnshire, forced vulnerable men to pave driveways for little or no money, Leicester Crown Court heard.
Giving evidence, one of the alleged victims said he was paid £10 a day for 15 hours' work.
Mr Rooney denies one count of conspiracy to require persons to perform forced or compulsory labour.
He also denies three counts of causing actually bodily harm.
The prosecution claims Mr Rooney deliberately targeted victims who were homeless or alcoholics.
A 55-year-old homeless man, who was living in a tent in Lincoln, told the court how Mr Rooney had approached him and offered to take him for a bath at the Washingborough site, near Lincoln.
After two weeks he tried to escape and return to his tent, but was caught by Mr Rooney and members of his family two miles away, the court heard.
The man, who has not been named, said he was too scared to make any further attempts to escape after he witnessed another man being beaten for the same thing.
"After what I had seen happen... I didn't risk that fact again," he told the court.
He said he stayed at the site for a further two years, being fed scraps once a day from Mr Rooney's takeaway meals.
In addition to paving driveways, the man said he was also forced to carry out other duties, including washing trailers and clearing rubbish.
The offences are alleged to have taken place between 2010 and 2014.
Several members of Mr Rooney's family were jailed for similar offences last year, the court was told.
The trial continues.
- Published12 March 2018
