Northamptonshire travellers' sites: Six arrested in modern slavery raids

Six people have been arrested on suspicion of slavery offences after five foreign nationals were found on travellers' sites in Northamptonshire.

Police raids were carried out at sites at Justin Park, near Market Harborough, Greenfields in Braybrooke, and at Lower Ecton Lane, Northampton, on Thursday.

Four Romanians and one Pole were found at the Greenfields site and are in the care of Northamptonshire Police.

Four men, aged 33, 29, 20 and 76, and two women, 23 and 73, were arrested.

They are being held on suspicion of offences committed under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

The 23-year-old woman and the 33-year-old man were held at Justin Park while the two men aged 20 and 29 were arrested at Greenfields.

A 22-year-old man was also arrested at Justin Park on suspicion of burglary offences committed in Leicestershire.

They are all currently being held in custody in Kettering.

At the Lower Ecton Lane site, a British national was taken into the care of the police.

Officers there arrested the 76-year-old man and a 73-year-old woman and they are being held in custody in Northampton.

Det Ch Supt Kate Meynell said: "Our primary aim today was to safeguard individuals who we strongly suspected were being used as modern day slaves and made to live in extremely poor conditions.

"Modern slavery takes many forms and in this case it is labour exploitation with victims made to work extremely long hours for minimal pay. They receive no training, pay no taxes or insurance and remain extremely vulnerable."