A new campaign has been launched to tackle moder day slavery with the help of the public.

Programme Challenge, made up of police and representatives of other agencies, has launched the campaign to make Anti-Slavery Dday.

The issue of modern day slavery is very much a reality for people in Bolton, which was among the first area to have people made subject to some of the first Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders.

In July 2016 a family was made subject to this at Carlisle Crown Court after it emerged they had kept Hungarian woman as prostitutes  in the town.

And the most recent figures published show that more than a dozen children were being subjected to modern slavery in Bolton.

Now a campaign has been launched to spot signs of exploitation. The number of victims of modern slavery has risen in the last four years.

Exploitation includes sexual oppression, which can include multiple women at one address with language barriers where men visit day and night and only stay for a short time.

Another is domestic servitude where someone is forced to carry out household tasks where they may be verbally or physically abused and threatened.

There is also labour exploitation, where people are controlled by an employer and made to live or work in an environment with little or no payment.

The number of people identified as victims of this in Greater Manchester has grown from 167 in 2016 to 562 last year.

There were 52 charges brought in 2021 and so far this year there have been 23.DCI Claire McGuire said help was needed to combat the problem.

She said: “Modern slavery is happening in Greater Manchester right now, but we need the public’s help to spot the signs in their neighbourhoods and workplaces.

"That information will help us to rescue and support people who are being exploited and abused."We can and should help them to escape what can feel like an impossible situation for them.

“The evidence people provide will also be used to prosecute the gangmasters and exploiters who are the modern slave masters.”

If people suspect someone is a victim of modern slavery, they can report it or seek advice through the Modern Slavery and Exploitation Helpline on 08000 121 700.