A PARTIALLY blind man allegedly forced to work against his will has spoken of the abuse at the hands of his captors.

Four men are on trial, accused of requiring another to perform forced or compulsory labour, between April 2010 and January 2013.

They were arrested as part of Gwent Police’s Operation Imperial, investigating modern slavery and forced labour.

The defendants are Patrick Joseph Connors, aged 59, and his son Patrick Dean Connors, aged 39, both of Greenway Road, Rumney, Cardiff; William Connors, aged 36, of Trowbridge Green, Cardiff; and Lee Christopher Carbis, aged 34, of Witla Court Road, Rumney.

A jury heard how their alleged victim, referred to as Mr K, met the Connors family through a man called Cecil after spending a year and a half homeless on the streets of Cardiff.

After this, the 41-year-old was offered manual work for the business of Patrick Joseph Connors’ known as “Paddy,” where he stayed in a shed made of breeze blocks, and later a caravan, alongside fellow alleged victim Michael Hughes.

Mr K, who is registered as blind, was allegedly forced to work up to 16 hours a day, seven days a week.

In cross-examination today, Mr Hashim Salman, defending Carbis, asked Mr K about his relationship his client, who also worked in the Connor’s family business.

“He did look after us a little better,” said Mr K.

Mr Salman said Carbis worked with Mr K for two to three days every week and lived in a mobile home with his wife next to Patrick J Connor’s farm house.

The alleged victims would visit a pub with Mr Carbis who would often give Mr K “extra money”, the court was told.

Mr Salman said: “As far you were concerned Lee (Carbis) seemed alright and was ‘not a bad kid’.”

He also questioned Mr K about his recollection of events taken from around 618 pages of lengthy police interviews.

These included allegedly being “bundled into the back of a car” by Patrick Joseph Connors and Mr Carbis — who also gave him “two jabs to the ribs”, it was said.

Mr K described the experience as being “like a rabbit bin the headlights”, which “totally took me by surprise.”

In a police statement, Mr K had previously stated that it was Patrick Joseph Connors who had hit him, which Mr Salman addressed.

He added: “The reason why you have given different accounts of this aspect of the allegation is because it didn’t happen at all.

“The ladies and gentleman of the jury are entitled to know the inconsistencies of the different attacks."

Patrick Joseph Connors is charged with eight counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two counts of kidnapping while Lee Carbis is accused of kidnapping.

They deny all allegations and the trial at Cardiff Crown Court continues.