A CHARITY has warned the economic downturn following the Covid pandemic could see further increases in the number of modern slavery victims.

It can involve domestic servitude, forced labour, sexual or criminal exploitation, and Home Office data reveals a rise in cases referred to Durham Constabulary, with 63 recorded in 2020, 24 more than the 39 recorded in 2019.

One in five of those cases referred in County Durham and Darlington were children.

Justine Currel, of anti-slavery charity Unseen, said: “Covid-19 and the subsequent economic downturn affected the visibility of the threat in such places as car washes and nail bars.

“And as you would expect, the proportion of calls from the general public declined during the lockdowns as fewer people were out and about.

“Now we’re emerging from lockdown, we’re seeing contacts significantly increasing.

“It’s too early to say how many of these contacts will result in victims of modern slavery being identified.”

In North Yorkshire, there were 72 recorded in 2020, seven fewer than the 79 recorded in 2019.

They included 51 children, equating to around 71 per cent of all referrals.

In Cleveland, there were 71 recorded in 2020, two fewer than the 73 recorded in 2019.

A spokeswoman for the Human Trafficking Foundation called for a national strategy to tackle the exploitation of youngsters.

She said: “The rise in British cases involving children highlights how increasingly acute child criminal exploitation is now in this country and that not enough sadly is being done to tackle it.”

Across the UK, 10,613 potential victims were referred to police last year – broadly in line with the record 10,616 identified in 2019.

Between January and March this year, almost 3,000 further potential victims were flagged, a slight increase on the same period in 2020.

Of those, 13 were identified to police in Durham, 16 in Cleveland and six in North Yorkshire.

Unseen said the closure of recognised slavery hotspots, such as car washes and nail bars, during lockdown periods in the UK meant potential victims were less visible during the pandemic, when referrals linked to adults fell nationally.

But there was an increase across the UK in cases involving children, who are more likely to be exploited at the hands of drugs gangs.

Referrals linked to “county lines” activity, which sees gangs using vulnerable people to transport drugs from cities to small towns, rose by almost a third nationally in 2020, with male children identified as potential victims in four out of five of those cases.

Those identified as possible victims by police forces, councils or other recognised authorities are referred to the Home Office for support via the National Referral Mechanism.

Until 2020, NRM referrals had increased every year since recording began in 2014.

The Home Office said restrictions amid the pandemic are likely to have caused a plateau in referral numbers.

A Home Office spokesperson said the Government had intensified enforcement action to crack down on those exploiting young people and highlighted 1,000 arrests linked to county lines activity in May.

The spokesperson added: “Through the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract, delivered through The Salvation Army, we provide adult victims in England and Wales with specialist support to help them to rebuild their lives, including safehouse accommodation, financial support and assistance in accessing health care and legal support.”