Thirsty and exhausted – claims of modern slavery on a UK trawler

Joel Quince arrived in the UK in 2012 having secured a job as a deckhand with TN Trawlers – a company owned by the Nicholson family, based in Annan on the southern coast of Scotland.

Joel is among dozens of workers from around the world who may have been trafficked to work for the small family-owned Scottish fishing firm, a BBC investigation has revealed.

Joel was an experienced fisherman and had a young family back home in the Philippines.

He claims that instead of the expected 48-hour week, he was working 18 hours a day, seven days a week while out fishing.

Joel said he struggled to get up to go to work because he was so exhausted, and described shortages of food and water on board the boat.

The TN Group said it denied any allegation of modern slavery or human trafficking and said that its workers were well treated and well paid.

Watch Disclosure: Slavery at Sea on BBC iPlayer or on BBC Scotland at 21:00 on Monday.

Digital video edit by Zara Weir.