Peak District holiday homes used as 'pop-up brothels' by human traffickers
The Rt Rev Dr Alastair Redfern says homes聽are being abused by gang bosses who traffic vulnerable women for sex.
Thursday 28 December 2017 12:57, UK
Holiday homes in the Peak District are being used as "pop-up brothels", the Bishop of Derby has warned.
The Rt Rev Dr Alastair Redfern says homes in the popular holiday destination are being abused by gang bosses who traffic vulnerable women for sex.
"Derby is a place where Eastern European women have come over in search for a better life but they have been forced into working in a brothel and they have their life taken from them," he told the Derby Telegraph.
"In the Peak District, there are lots of holiday homes used as pop-up brothels. The organised criminals bring the vulnerable women in and then use a cottage for business. They stay for four weeks and make a lot of money."
He says women are coming to Derby having been promised there are jobs for them, but they arrive to discover there are no such jobs.
"This is a serious criminal business. They are placed and forced to work in brothels because the work they were promised does not exist, they have very limited grasp of the language and have no money," he said.
Dr Redfern campaigns against the trafficking of young women, and says the problem is getting worse.
"They are being treated like animals. Their treatment is horrific. This is happening in our communities. They have one bath and one toilet between 20 of them. It's just awful," he says.
Dr Redfern has been working in the House of Lords to toughen laws to tackle modern slavery and human trafficking in the county.
He says the public needs to be more vigilant and ask questions if they see things that seem suspicious.
"We need to understand the signs and get the evidence," he says.