A millionaire gypsy family unit convicted of existence U.k.'s biggest slavery gang accept been jailed for a total of nearly 80 years.

The Rooney clan kept 18 homeless men every bit slaves for up to 26 years and forced them to live in squalid caravans, working for little or no money.

The roughshod family made more than £one.5million which they splashed on a lavish lifestyle - including homes, holidays and flash cars.

They also spent the cash on other luxury items such as gym memberships, boob jobs and a soccer school at Manchester United.

The slavery gang kept their victims in squalid atmospheric condition while cashing in on their hard labour

Terminal calendar month the traveller family unit were convicted of a string of modern slavery offences following one of the largest ever investigations of its kind in Britain.

Today, 10n men and 1 woman were jailed for a total of 79 years and seven months at Nottingham Crown Court.

Over the course of three trials between November 2016 and Baronial this year, John, 31, Patrick, 31, Bridget, 55, Martin Snr, 57, Martin, 23, John, 53, Peter, 36, Gerard, 46, and Lawrence Rooney, 47, were all convicted of conspiring to crave a person to perform forced or compulsory labour.

Some of the victims were forced to live in a filthy old caravan

The two defendants who were the "almost culpable" were twins Patrick and John Rooney who were jailed for xv-and-a-one-half and 15 years and 9 months respectively.

Sentencing, Estimate Timothy Spencer QC told the family their offences had been "chilling in their mercilessness."

He said: "Your victims had reached a position where they were cowed into submission.

"Whatsoever resistance they knew was futile - information technology would have been met by y'all recruiting other family unit members and delivering more violence.

"You lot knew they would offering no resistance at all - nor did they.

"These offences are chilling in their mercilessness."

The inside of the caravan was like a pigsty

He told Martin Snr he had "brought upwards sons in this criminal civilization and taught them the ropes" while Bridget was the " "respected matriarch".

The guess told them both:"You knew how to dispense and intimidate - you lot were well-versed in how to use violence, both directly and the threat of violence to compel compliance.

"As patriarch and elder statesmen at Drinsey Nook had you ever had a heed to put a stop to what was going on y'all could accept done so in an instant."

The court heard the family would beat their victims and brand them fear for their lives. They were fabricated to sleep in caravans where the carpets, beds and duvets were "soaked with urine and faeces".

One of the victims was left a "devastated, shattered and broken man" while others said they lived a 'dog's life' and were forced to 'articulate up the blood' from their beatings.

Victims were fed scraps and forced to alive in dirty atmospheric condition

The victims - aged between xviii and 63 - were forced to work, tarmacking and paving drives from the clan's bases at their gypsy sites in Drinsey Nook and Washingborough, Linconshire.

The judge said: "You prayed on men who, for a multifariousness of reasons, had fallen on difficult times - men who had get homeless, alcoholic, men with mental health problems.

"Men who for a diverseness of reasons, and to varying degrees, were vulnerable and easy to dispense.

"In one case located you exploited their natural want to notice useful employment, somewhere to regard as home, some identify in club - fifty-fifty the society yous offered.

"Ofttimes these men were picked up off the streets - you offered piece of work, promised money, shelter and food.

The grubby interior of the caravan victims were forced to alive in

"The accommodation provided was at best basic, oftentimes squalid - caravans which were broken down, ill-equipped and dirty.

"Once at the site these men would be put to work in various means, as and when required, under your management.

"Significantly and substantially work involved hard manual labour, laying block-paved or tarmacked drives.

"The men would be driven to the site and left to get on with the job.

"Initially payment was as promised, but so payment dwindled to little or nothing - sometimes the only payment was alcohol, feeding their dependency.

"Many of these men were entitled to state benefits - in many cases, they were claimed simply the vast majority of the money went to the Rooney family and not to them."

While their victims lived in squalor, the Rooneys had the all-time of gear in their homes

Chief Superintendent Chris Davison, Head of Crime for Lincolnshire Police, said afterwards the example:"The severity of these crimes is underlined by the sentences imposed by the judge.

"The victims will never become the years back that were taken away from them simply I hope this provides them with some comfort that justice has been served and demonstrates that nosotros will exercise everything in our power to try and stop others suffering in the ways that they did.

"We volition not residual on this result equally there are potentially other victims of modern slavery in our county.

"We are exploring five active investigations and we will continue to put any victims at the very heart of our investigations.

"Mod Slavery isn't just forced labour similar nosotros have seen in Functioning Pottery - it tin have many forms including sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, fraudulent action or criminal exploitation.

"This doesn't always happen to our most vulnerable either - any man, woman or child could be trafficked or recruited in the action, frequently with hope of coin or other benefit.

"Whatever form information technology takes - mod slavery is a truly appalling and devastating crime."

(Top row, from the left) Bridget Rooney, Gerald Rooney, John Rooney, John Rooney, (middle row, from the left) Lawrence Rooney, Martin Rooney, Martin Rooney Snr, Martin Rooney, (bottom row, from the left) Patrick Rooney, Patrick Rooney, and Peter Doran

FULL List OF CONVICTIONS:

John Rooney, 31, of Drinsey Nook, Sheffield Road, Saxilby - Conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour, Conspiracy to defraud, Fraud by fake representation, Theft (2 counts). Sentenced to 15-and-a-half years.

Patrick Rooney, 31, of Drinsey Nook, Sheffield Road, Saxilby - Conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour, Fraud past abuse of position, Set on occasioning actual bodily harm, Theft (two counts). Sentenced to fifteen years and 9 months.

Bridget Rooney, 55, of Drinsey Nook, Sheffield Route, Saxilby - Conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour. Sentenced to seven years.

Martin Rooney, 35, of Sainfoin Farm, Gatemoor Lane, Beaconsfield - Conspiracy to defraud, Converting criminal property (2 counts). Sentenced to two years, suspended for two years.

Martin Rooney, 57, of Drinsey Nook, Sheffield Road, Saxilby - Conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour, Unlawful wounding. Sentenced to ten years and nine months.

Martin Rooney, 23, of Drinsey Nook, Sheffield Road, Saxilby - Conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour, Assault occasioning bodily bodily harm. Sentenced to vi years and nine months.

Patrick Rooney, 54, of Sainfoin Subcontract, Gatemoor Lane, Beaconsfield - Converting criminal property. Sentenced to twelve months, suspended for 2 years.

John Rooney, 53, of Chantry Croft, Pontefract - Conspiracy to crave a person to perform forced or compulsory labour (two counts). Sentenced to v years and x months.

Peter Doran, 36, of Washingborough Road, Lincoln - Conspiracy to crave a person to perform forced or compulsory labour. Sentenced to half dozen years.

Gerard Rooney, 46, of Washingborough Route, Lincoln - Conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour. Sentenced to half-dozen years.

Lawrence Rooney, 47, currently in prison - Conspiracy to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour. Sentenced to vi years.