A traveller who picked up a homeless man and kept him as a ‘modern day’ slave has been jailed four years.

In June 2004 Johnny Moloney, who was 18 years old at the time, picked up alcoholic Cameron Biggar from the streets of London with the promise of work and accommodation.

The family gave Mr Biggar a shed to live in but he did not have any running water or a toilet to use. He was later given a campervan for accommodation.

Mr Biggar was not paid for his work until 2012 when another travelling community in Luton were arrested for holding workers in servitude.

During the week trial at St Albans crown court the jury found the 30-year-old guilty of knowingly holding a person in slavery or servitude and knowingly requiring another person to perform forced labour between April 2010 and December 2014.

Despite being kept in servitude and forced to perform labour from 2004, the charges only began in 2010 when the Act of Parliament came into effect.

The court heard Mr Biggar was never subjected to physical violence only threats except for a few slaps across the face in the beginning.

Judge Andrew Bright QC said, at the sentencing on Friday June 17, he believes the threats were not made by Mr Moloney, aka Murphy, but by other members of the family.

Peter Jeffrey, the court’s probation officer who spoke at the sentencing on Friday, said: “Mr Moloney has fully accepted his guilt to these offences.

“He did not fully realise the extent of them until the verdict was given. He is sorry from the bottom of his heart.”

The court heard Mr Moloney has three young daughters aged from five to three-weeks-old and all of the daughters suffer from physical illnesses.

His wife Shanon Loveridge, 22, had the same charges faced by her husband dropped during the trial.

During the weeklong trial Mr Biggar revealed by the end he was being treated fairly by Mr Moloney.

In 2012, Mr Biggar was being paid £30 a day for his work but Judge Bright believe it was significantly below the going rate as Mr Biggar was working at least 14 hours a day.

Judge Bright said: “Cameron Biggar is a vulnerable man who suffered from alcoholism and homelessness.

“We must make sure that a vulnerable person will be protected.”