A couple from Ealing enslaved a teenage boy and made him carry out gruelling work without pay for nearly a quarter of a century.

Doctor Emmanuel Edet, 61, and his wife Antan, 58, took the victim from his home country Nigeria to the UK without his family in 1989, when he was aged just 13, said police.

He had agreed to be their 'house boy', on the basis that he would be paid and receive schooling, but they made him carry out arduous unpaid labour for 24 years.

The phlebotomist and senior nursing sister, of Haymill Close, Perivale , forced him to work for around 17 hours a day cooking, cleaning and caring for their two children, according to police.

The house in Perivale where the Edets forced their victim to clean and cook for no reward

They were found guilty at Harrow Crown Court today (Tuesday, November 17) of holding a person in slavery or servitude, child cruelty, and assisting unlawful immigration.

They are due to be sentenced at the court tomorrow.

Forced to sleep on a dirty piece of foam in the hallway

Police said the couple claimed to have adopted the victim as their son but forbade him from eating in the same room as the family and forced him to sleep on a dirty piece of foam on the hallway floor.

They controlled every aspect of his life, from what he could wear to when he was allowed to leave the house.

They taunted him, calling him a "parasite", and convinced him he would be arrested for being an illegal immigrant if he went to the police.

The foam bed on which the victim was made to sleep in the hallway

He finally gained his freedom after emailing the charity 'Hope for Justice' from a computer at the home in December 2013, having seen media reports about modern slavery.

The Met's trafficking and kidnap unit helped him leave and organised specialist support, before arresting and charging the Edets in March last year.

"He has hope and a future now"

Detective Chief Inspector Phil Brewer said: "The Edets took self-appointed ownership of the victim. They controlled what he wore, what he did and how he spoke for the majority of his life.

"When the victim left Nigeria, he was a young boy with aspirations but the Edets abused him until he became timid, nervous and obedient. They conditioned him to the degree that when we visited him at the Perivale address and tried to lead him into the living room to speak, he became visibly shaken at the thought of breaking the Edets' rules about going into that room. It was only when he went into the kitchen that he was able to relax and speak openly to police.

The Edets' notes on their victim's chores

"Today the victim is living a new life in the UK. He has a job, a home with his own bed and freedom to move, and he is studying. While he will never fully overcome what happened during those 24 years, he is determined to make the most of the rest of his life and today's conviction will help him feel he can do that. In his own words, he has hope and a future now.

"I urge anyone else being treated the way that this victim was to please tell the police or call the national trafficking helpline. There are specially trained people waiting to help you."

* If you are a victim or slavery or have concerns about slavery in your neighbourhood, call the Modern Slavery National Trafficking helpline free on 0800 0121 700 or email www.modernslavery.co.uk. Alternatively, call the police on 999.