The Independent reported that inspectors working for the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) noticed the child slaves last week while they were forced to work from dawn to dusk without proper clothing in freezing weather conditions.

The GLA investigators said they even found boots fit for five-year-olds which indicated children even at younger ages have been exploited on the fields.

The local authorities have taken into care six of the children, some of whom were working as onion pickers on their own and some who worked alongside their parents.

Slavery charges were confirmed when intelligence suggested some 40 workers were paid just up to £100 for one week’s labor.

The investigations are underway by the GLA, West Mercia Police and the UK Border Agency.

“In 2007 we celebrated the 200th anniversary of the end of the slave trade, but in 2010 we’ve got people working in appalling conditions who, while not actually being slaves, are very close to it,” GLA chairman Paul Whitehouse said.

This comes as critics say victims of human trafficking in Britain have no choice but to continue in their tormenting conditions as even if they can escape their tormentor masters they will have to tolerate a ‘ruthless and unjust’ asylum system.

One of such high-profile activists, actress Juliet Stevenson, said “if you’re talking about the ‘great’ in Great Britain, let’s look at having some moral leadership.”

This is while the government is coming under growing pressure to sign up to the EU directive on human trafficking which facilitates the prosecution of the guilty and protection of victims.