This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-29217855
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Man 'forced to work without pay' for 13 years | Man 'forced to work without pay' for 13 years |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A father and son forced a vulnerable man to work unpaid at their farm every day for 13 years, a court has heard. | A father and son forced a vulnerable man to work unpaid at their farm every day for 13 years, a court has heard. |
| Darell Simester, 44, had to work 15-hour-days living in squalid conditions at Cariad Farm at Peterstone near Newport, heard a jury. | Darell Simester, 44, had to work 15-hour-days living in squalid conditions at Cariad Farm at Peterstone near Newport, heard a jury. |
| His family struggled to recognise him when they tracked him down in a "horrific state" with a chest infection, a hernia and calloused feet. | His family struggled to recognise him when they tracked him down in a "horrific state" with a chest infection, a hernia and calloused feet. |
| The trial at Cardiff Crown Court is expected to last up to six weeks. | The trial at Cardiff Crown Court is expected to last up to six weeks. |
| Daniel Doran, 67, and 42-year-old David Daniel Doran deny charges of requiring Mr Simester to perform forced or compulsory labour between 2010 and 2013. | |
| The family of Mr Simester, from Kidderminster, Worcestershire, had not known of his whereabouts since 2000. | |
| 'Under menace' | 'Under menace' |
| John Hipkin, prosecuting, said when Mr Simester was eventually tracked down by his worried family in 2013 he was found living in a caravan which had been described by a police officer as "left to rot" and "unfit for human habitation". | |
| Mr Simester slept in a rat-infested shed for more than a decade with just his horse manure-stained clothing for bedding - before being moved to a squalid and cold caravan with a broken door, heard Cardiff Crown Court. | Mr Simester slept in a rat-infested shed for more than a decade with just his horse manure-stained clothing for bedding - before being moved to a squalid and cold caravan with a broken door, heard Cardiff Crown Court. |
| He was said to have washed himself in an animal's feeding trough, while the broken outdoor toilet he had to use would only flush with a bucket of water and a stick. | He was said to have washed himself in an animal's feeding trough, while the broken outdoor toilet he had to use would only flush with a bucket of water and a stick. |
| He also had to huddle so close to an electric heater for warmth that over the years the skin on his left leg had been scarred. | |
| After police raided the farm, Mr Simester told officers he had tried to leave twice - once after a spade had been thrown at him - but he had been caught and taken back to the farm by David Doran. | |
| He was allegedly told he would be killed and buried with the horses. | |
| Mr Hipkin said: "Darrell Simester was a man of timid disposition who for 13 years was forced to work against his will and under menace. | Mr Hipkin said: "Darrell Simester was a man of timid disposition who for 13 years was forced to work against his will and under menace. |
| He added: "Darrell Simester regarded the defendants as his bosses. He worked (virtually) every day for 13 years. | He added: "Darrell Simester regarded the defendants as his bosses. He worked (virtually) every day for 13 years. |
| "His working day would start at 7am and and he would finish between 9pm and 10pm. He did not receive any pay at all. | "His working day would start at 7am and and he would finish between 9pm and 10pm. He did not receive any pay at all. |
| "You (the jury) will have to decide whether Mr Simester remained at the farm as a volunteer because he preferred life there, or whether he was coerced to stay while under some form of threat." | "You (the jury) will have to decide whether Mr Simester remained at the farm as a volunteer because he preferred life there, or whether he was coerced to stay while under some form of threat." |
| 'Hunched over' | |
| The court heard that Mr Simester had gone missing in 2000 after taking a seaside trip to Porthcawl in south Wales. | |
| He was allegedly picked up by the Doran family while travelling back to Kidderminster. | |
| From 2000 until 2008 was allowed to phone his family three or four times a year but was threatened with death if he told them where he was living. | |
| The jury heard that after 2008 the phone calls stopped and his family started searching for him. | |
| A Facebook campaign and press coverage led to a police tip-off that he was being held at Cariad Farm and his family travelled to the Gypsy horse farm run by Daniel and David Doran. | |
| Mr Hipkin told the court Mr Simester's own brother didn't recognise him when he first arrived on the farm. | |
| "His brother Duncan walked through the farm gate - he saw a man shovelling manure into a wheel barrow," Mr Hipkin said. | |
| "Duncan approached him and after a little time recognised it was his brother. He was in a bad physical condition. | |
| "He was hunched over and wearing ripped clothes and shoes. Darrell Simester for his own part didn't recognise his own brother and looked scared. | |
| "His father when he saw him described him as being in a horrific state, hunched over and barely able to walk. He was filthy." | |
| Police raided the farm and took Mr Simester away for medical treatment. | |
| The trial continues. | The trial continues. |