The owner of a Chippenham car wash could face a £40,000 fine after two employees in breach of Asylum Bail were arrested at the site.

Officers attended the business, which they would not name, on Thursday morning to check all employees as well as their working conditions and immigration status.

Two of the four males working on site were found to be working in breach of their Asylum Bail conditions and were arrested for a Schedule 10 Immigration offence by the Immigration Service.

The owner was served paperwork notifying him of the intention to review the findings and the intention to prosecute for the Schedule 10 offences.

The owner can be fined up to £20,000 per person arrested.

Each member of staff was interviewed and cooperated fully with the officers’ enquiries resulting in them being subsequently released not to return to the site.

Sergeant Jamie Ball of the Chippenham NPT said: “Our team is actively checking MSHT sites to identify victims of modern slavery.

“Almost 50 million people worldwide live as slaves today.

“In the UK alone, there are estimated to be over 100,000 victims silently hidden in places like car washes, brothels, nail bars and restaurants. They are in our neighbourhoods and on our streets.

“Our team is determined to protect the most vulnerable in our communities and crack down on modern slavery.”