FOREIGN workers are being exploited in a Worcestershire slave trade boom.

The Citizens Advice Bureau says men, women and even children are working up to 60 hours a week for as little as £1 an hour as cleaners and food-packers.

The immigrants, mainly Portuguese, come to the area with promises of good jobs and accommodation.

But, on arrival, national agencies sell them to employers who then pay the workers a pittance.

CAB manager Michael Gardner said they had been inundated with calls in recent weeks from workers who want to get out.

"There's a huge problem with exploitation of foreign workers in Worcestershire at the moment," he said.

"The main concern is that many of them have signed contracts which they don't understand or can't read.

"This forces them into a life of long hours and low wages. Also, in a lot of cases, accommodation is promised by the agency, which is very attractive to people coming into the country.

"The problem is that if, they're fired or want to leave their job, they're made homeless in a matter of hours."

Worcester-based Ethnic Access Link, which provides interpreters for foreigners with problems, confirmed that there was a major boom in slave labour in the region.

Last year, they provided interpreters for 45 Portuguese workers.

This year, the number has already risen above 100 and they expect around 900 in total.

"We've been having an awful lot of calls from foreign people who have employment problems," said office manager Monica Izmajlowicz.

"The number of complaints we've had recently has gone through the roof, but all we can do is provide an interpreter to CAB, who deal with the cases."

CAB has named the two national agencies they say are responsible for most of the problems.

But, when the Evening News contacted them, they denied they had any dealings with foreign workers.

CAB declined to name the firms using the agencies as they are negotiating with them to hire immigrants directly.

"We have also approached both agencies involved, but we've had no joy from them. We know what they're doing, however, and we have the evidence to prove it," added Mr Gardner.

"We're taking both to an employment tribunal to get some of the workers the rights they deserve.

"We're also in negotiations with some of the people who've used these agencies to try to get better employment for the immigrants.

"This is a problem we have throughout the country, where firms are using agencies but have no idea how badly their workers are being treated. This awful practice has to stop."