ALL eight of the Romanian men police claimed to have rescued from slavery at a travellers site in Semington have left the place of safety they were taken to of their own accord.

Four of the men are back at the site and working for the firm that is being investigated by police, while the other four are understood to be on their way back to Romania.

The travellers’ site, just off the A361 at Littleton, was raided by police last week and eight Romanian men, who were described as living in “cramped and unsanitary conditions”, were taken away.

But workers from Newstone Barrett Driveways, one of the firms based at the site, rubbished claims of human trafficking and on Saturday welcomed back their staff.

David Robson, who works for Newstone Barrett Driveways, said the Romanian men had returned to the site of their own accord and asked if they could come back to work for the firm.

He said: “We have lost work over these allegations and it’s not right. The guys came back to the site on Saturday and every one of them came back of their own free will.

“They are happy to be back at work and it has been a stressful time for all of us, as we had to try and carry on working without them. We have not had any sort of apology from the police.

“The men came back because they wanted to, so how are they slaves? They are able to come and go as they please, so all these claims are complete rubbish. The police and council were talking about them being scared, but they didn’t know what was happening.

“That was the reason they were scared, as the police rushed in and they don’t speak much English. They actually asked us if it was okay for them to come back to work and we said of course it was.”

The four men, Rusu, Panaete, Gheorghe and Lingurar, who are all in the 40s, were back working on a job in Trowbridge this week, while Mr Robson said the other four men had decided to return to Romania.

Following the raid last week, Wiltshire Police and Wiltshire Council said that the men did not have access to food, drink and showers, but workers living at the Semington site dismissed those claims.

Police have confirmed that three men who were arrested on suspicion of human trafficking offences after the warrant was carried out at the travellers’ site are still on bail pending further inquiries.

A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: “We can confirm the investigation into human trafficking offences at a site in Semington is ongoing and detectives are following a number of lines of inquiry.

“Four of the eight Romanian men who had been taken to a place of safety decided to leave the process over the weekend and return to the site.

"Officers visited the men to check on their welfare and support mechanisms are in place should they need any further assistance. The other four men have now moved from the initial place of safety and are being supported by The Salvation Army.”

Major Anne Read, The Salvation Army’s Anti-Trafficking Response Co-ordinator, added: “The men are receiving the vital support they need to begin the long road to recovery.

“This crime is so often hidden but we would urge the public to be alert to signs that someone they encounter is being exploited and report their concerns immediately.”

The multi-agency operation involved Wiltshire Police, Wiltshire Council, British Red Cross, NHS England, Medvivo, The Salvation Army and UK Human Trafficking Centre.

The Wiltshire Police spokesman added: “All forms of human exploitation, modern slavery and forced labour are abhorrent crimes and Wiltshire Police will continue to work closely with our partners to bring those responsible to justice.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Wiltshire Police on 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, where details may be left anonymously if preferred.