London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Man who held slave captive for 40 YEARS in tiny freezing shed AVOIDS jail

Man who held slave captive for 40 YEARS in tiny freezing shed AVOIDS jail

A MAN who pleaded guilty to modern slavery charges has walked free from court.

Peter Swailes Jr, 56, admitted the offences after his vulnerable victim was rescued from a rotting 6ft shed with no lighting, heating and a soiled duvet.

The victim lived in the tiny shed that had no lights or heating
Peter Swailes pleaded guilty to a modern slavery offence
The victim had been living with his father, Peter Snr, 80, and was "used and exploited" for 40 years.

He was made to live in a horse box, a disused caravan and more recently in the shed in Carlisle.

Swailes Jnr admitted the offences on the basis he was unaware of the victim's living conditions.

He was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court to a nine-month jail term, suspended for 18 months.

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

The charges followed a three-year investigation by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).

Prosecutor Barbara Webster 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".

ROTTEN SHED


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.

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 added: "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.

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

Martin Plimmer, of the GLAA, said he had been sleeping in conditions "that no human being should live in".

He added: "This has been a really harrowing investigation. In all my years in law enforcement, I have never known a modern slavery case where the exploitation has taken place over such a long period of time."

A man was held captive in a small shed for 40 years

Free: Peter Swailes Jnr leaves Carlisle Crown Court

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
×