03/10/2016 Inside Out Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

Tonight we are in the beautiful surroundings of Brimham Rocks

Tonight, we speak to the women who claim that their employers right

here in Yorkshire have treated them like domestic slaves.

You know, that tolerates abuse, that tolerate slavery.

Also tonight, we take an exclusive look inside a

controversial military college which takes recruits

I'm definitely sticking it out. It's the job for me.

And, later in the programme, the music students

It's going to be a great show, I think.

First tonight, the hidden story of the

foreign domestic workers who are exploited, beaten,

and abused, right here in Yorkshire, many come to the

UK as maids or nannies to raise money for

families back home but, as I've been finding out,

what appears to be a dream job can turn

This is a story that's taken me by surprise.

I knew that foreign people were employed as domestic

helpers mainly in the rich suburbs of London.

What I hadn't quite appreciated was how many foreign workers

are in this part of the world and why, for some of them,

Both man, he raped me, the side of the other.

She says she has connections to the police and wherever

It's a place where even if you shout for help, no-one can hear you.

Cecilia is from the Philippines and is a former domestic worker

But her life as a maid to one rich family left her devastated.

My employer, he raped me and I am screaming but he held me, my mouth,

to no screaming because the wife sleep there in the bedroom.

And then, following day, the son again, he did

And I can't tell. I can't do anything.

The memories are still vivid even though the attack took

place in the Middle East more than 20 years ago.

My stomach, because I am pregnant, to take out my baby.

Cecilia's troubles didn't end there ? she was brought to the UK

by another family and says she spent much of her time

When the moment came she took action.

I didn't know, it's a little bit higher.

I'm never looking straight into the main road in London.

I said, this is my freedom here in England.

It is absolutely heartbreaking to hear the repeated ordeal that

Cecilia has had to face in her life and shocking that this is happening

Unfortunately, Cecelia's story isn't an isolated one.

We've spoken to another domestic worker who's asked us

She says she's had jobs in Yorkshire where her wages have been withheld

I was bathing the children and they were shouting.

Then my employer came from her room and shouted "You haven't disciplined

the children" and she said, "leave my premises right now."

When she said that, I went to my room to pack my things

and she threw a stool at me and it was lucky

Alice says, as well as physical violence there were threats, too.

I said it is better that I leave and she said "No,

you cannot leave because you need the work and you cannot change

employer because I have connections in immigration."

I was afraid at anytime she could send me back to the Philippines.

Alice eventually found work elsewhere and she's told us

Rules around the employment of foreign workers have changed

In 2012, the Home Office brought in new regulations that effectively

But it meant if relationships went sour it was often very

difficult for workers to leave and find a new job.

In April this year the visa regulations were tweaked again,

giving workers the right to switch employers.

But with visas lasting six months or less, domestic helpers often have

some hard choices ? leave and try and find a new job in the remaining

time, or stay and suffer abuse to earn the cash they need

They are trapped in the system that tolerate abuse,

that tolerates slavery, that tolerates trafficking.

While many domestic helpers have a good experience in the UK ?

we've heard stories of workers' passports being taken away

by their employers ? and of some people going to extreme lengths

Some of them, it's like the iron. The employer would iron the hand.

Of course, it's visible. We can see that.

The hot water, you know, covered all over the body.

Marrissa's organisation helps the victims of

Until recently their only branch was in London ? but their increasing

case load means there's now one in Leeds.

A domestic worker in Yorkshire, telling me that I will

The moment they are out of the house, especially

And then, I would just say, someone pass the phone to them

Can you please direct her to the station, to the train

So, then I say, I will tell her they are waiting

So when you arrive in Victoria, I'm there.

And for those who do flee there is some hope.

Hello. Nice to see you.

Jheff Migano runs a store selling Asian food to some of the 5,000

Philippinos who live in Yorkshire ? and its to his shop that many women

From the first glance, you can see the loneliness

They don't know if police or immigration are

Jheff's resources are limited ? but he says he can't turn them away.

If they come to me, I can give them food and accommodation, that's it.

But, about this, I don't know anything about it so they should

have a support for them, these victims.

Jheff does what he can ? there are others offering help.

Good afternoon. Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army gives assistance to domestic workers

who are being abused, they say the number of calls

There's an increasing number of victims of labour exploitation

In Yorkshire, we're seeing an increase in referrals,

along every category of this kind of exploitation.

Each year 17,000 domestic workers enter the UK ? many arrive with poor

English language skills and are confused about UK visa rules,

so getting the message across to them that they can get

When his wife was out, the boss would come in.

We can do this in animation and we can explain to people

all around the world what is actually going on.

The ones that we've met are now in good jobs.

But they've all been through very, very painful situations in the past.

You know, they've suffered a lot of pain.

Almost every single one that we've spoken to has

The Home Office say they're introducing reforms to ensure

workers are better protected from abuse and slavery.

The Modern Slavery Act will, they say, give overseas domestic

workers who are potential victims of modern slavery immunity

Back in Barnsley ? Cecilia's life is now much better.

She has a steady job in the care sector ? but she never forget

I don't want to see, it stayed with me, I've suffered before.

I don't want people to suffer the same way I have suffered before.

Who knows what goes on behind closed doors ? but at least now a voice

that the voices who've remained silent for so long may

And if you're affected by any of the issues in my report or you're

concerned about someone, there is a confidential helpline.

Or there is advice on the website Modern slavery.co.uk

Still to come on Inside Out, 80s pop icon Mark Almond

takes a group of music students to perform on the big stage.

Now, how young is too young to sign up for a life in the military?

Well, there's just one college in the country

which actively recruits 16 and 17-year-olds

and it's just down the road.

Olivia Richwald has been given exclusive access to the

Harrogate Army Foundation College and its latest batch of recruits.

Next three rounds. It's in the middle.

A couple of times just getting beasted

There are times when I have wanted to leave.

I'm definitely sticking it out, it's the job for me.

Too young to drink, too young to vote, old enough to join the Army

These are Yorkshire's teenage Army recruits.

The paperwork commits them to study here for a year,

in exchange for wages of ?1200 a month.

From their 18th birthday they'll be committed to serving

I want to travel, get better qualifications,

make new friends and have a better life for myself.

I've always wanted to do something a bit more exciting

I think the army will give me what I wanted.

Since you were, sort of, ten, 11, you've always

We were, yes, yes, he'll grow out of it but never did.

Junior soldiers have been trained here in Harrogate

The MOD invests tens of thousands of pounds in each recruit

and they have to be very dedicated before they're accepted here.

Harrogate's Army Foundation College is controversial.

It's the only place in the country where children, those aged 16 and 17

Critics say 16 is too young to make that kind of commitment.

But those who come here spend around 30% of their time in the classroom

and the education results achieved here are remarkable.

Some of them come with a reading age of between A five

A lot of them come with a reading age between a nine and 11-year-olds.

The ones that have just left did fantastically, they have

progressed if not one level, two levels for some of them,

which is a great achievement in the short amount

I'm going to go to the cashpoint and I'm going to take my umbrella.

No. Why'd you think it is raining?

So, I have inferred that it might rain or it's raining.

Romario Thomas is one of five brothers from Hertfordshire.

And has come to Harrogate to improve his maths and English.

The moment slipped by and soon the seeds were sown.

Without being rude, what happened there?

Romario is desperate to follow his brothers

into the Royal Signals but didn't have the academic qualifications

needed and is instead joining the Royal Artillery.

But if he can get the grades he might get a transfer into

I want a cap badge change to do something with IT because I like

to work with computers and stuff like that.

We won't find out as yet, until I don't know when,

hopefully I get my transfer, if not then later down the line in

Or the next few months Romario must show his trainers he can achieve

Fewer than 10% of recruits are female.

But they're expected to work just as hard as the boys.

In addition to the gruelling physical regime, 17-year-old

Demi Allan from Edinburgh has started boxing ? if she can train

hard enough she might make the Army boxing team ?

which will be a fantastic start to her military career.

I enjoy the fitness, the fighting,

just the team spirit. I like it.

Don your respirator before the gas gets into your system.

The junior soldiers are now halfway through their training and this

is something they dread on the timetable, they're

What I want you to do now is carry out immediate decontamination.

this shed is filled with CS ? or tear - gas.

Contact with it causes coughing, dizziness,

Junior soldiers need to be able to handle a chemical incident.

And today they're being tested to see if they can decontaminate

When you first take it off, it isn't too bad.

And then you're in there for longer and you start breathing in.

Horrible, can't breathe, You've got snot running

You feel like you're choking and burning.

From here the challenges will only get tougher.

We've joined the junior soldiers on one of their main field exercises

They're sleeping rough here in the woods, living

in sleeping bags they eating ration packs.

This exercise is just three days long but when they join the Army

for real it could be for weeks at a time.

There's a huge sense of achievement once they've

So, you're sleeping in the woods. What's that like?

It's full of spiders and there's loads of ants and insects.

This is definitely what I imagined it to be like.

You know, being out in the field, doing all the proper

soldiering stuff, shooting, stuff like that.

Different to being in camp. A lot better experience.

In that direction. From now, go!

Last time I spoke to you, you wanted to swap regiments

I've just got to pass one more thing in English and then

I've always wanted to do it, ever since I looked at the Army.

I think I will be over the moon if I got my transfer.

When we go into the ring, the bell goes, what's

The summer term ends with college boxing night.

And Demi Allan's dedication has paid off.

She's been picked to fight in the only female bout of the evening.

I blank out going to the ring but it's walking out

You've got all the duty soldiers watching.

You've got the brigadiers, the sergeants, the officers.

You've got a lot of people come to watch.

After three two-minute rounds, it's a win for Demi.

I'm knackered but I'm really glad I won it.

It was worth all that training, getting up early in the morning.

And what are you looking forward to the most after this?

And we will be following the progress of Demi,

Ben and Romario, to see if they graduate next year.

Now, students at the Leeds College of Music have been given an

To perform at one of the country's best

Johnny I'Anson followed them on this amazing journey.

We looked on ourselves very much as an underground band.

We were a northern, electronic, underground band.

He was one of the biggest stars of the '80s.

Before you know it, you're on TOTP and then your life changes

35 years on, he remains one of the country's

biggest singing stars with an instantly recognisable voice

and he can fill some of the most prestigious venues in the country.

When you go out onto the stage, it's a thrill

because you feel part of that history of walking out.

It all started for Marc Almond and Soft Cell here in Leeds

And that's why he's preparing to give something back

to the next generation of music students.

Leeds College of Music ? and a group of student musicians

are tuning up before their first rehearsal for the most

They are going to be performing with Marc Almond

at one of the biggest concert venues in the country ?

I was expecting everything to be ragged

but it's not it's fantastic which is inspiring for me.

It's going to be a really great show I think.

And final year student Lily Kerbey who is in the choir has

just heard that she will have a very special part to play.

We're doing Haunted Heart which is a classic song which

My mum's got tickets for the London gig so she 'll be able to see me.

I was going to keep it as a surprise but I was on the phone

to her and I was like "Oh, my gosh, I'm doing a duet with Marc Almond!"

Obviously she knows who he is more than our generation does.

And Marc really did become one of the voices

His big break came in the late '70s at one particular club

There was no other club like it in the north of England.

People came from everywhere to come to the Warehouse.

I started becoming a DJ at that point.

So Mike the owner of the Warehouse knew I'd started this band Soft Cell

and he could see electronic music was emerging and becoming big around

They call themselves the Young Romantics

at the costumes you'll see that's the understatement of the year

Richard Madeley did his first TV interviews with me

It's probably there on Youtube somewhere!

I think the whole thing is just about young

people having a good time and enjoying themselves.

It's massive. Were you ready for that?

I was still living in a shared student place in Leeds.

When the call came and they said you're in the top 20,

then you're number nine, then three, then number one,

And before you know it, you're on TOTP!

Last time I saw them, it was a fairly

And unlike some of his contemporaries, Marc's career has

Two years ago, Leeds College of Music offered him

It was nice of them to recognise that I'd been part of Leeds music.

Even though I wasn't born in Leeds, Leeds has always been

And Marc returns to his musical home for the final dress rehearsal

with the Leeds College of Music students before the two

concerts at Leeds Town Hall and the Royal Festival Hall

And there's one last chance for Marc and Lily

We're ironing out a few little things and paces, but I think

Speak to me tomorrow and I'll tell you.

a beautiful sunny day to be performing at the Festival Hall.

There's wires everywhere and you're thinking,

But as soon as you 're singing or playing your

I feel so honoured ? there are so many

flute players in college and I was chosen to perform here.

So this is it then - months of hard work,

more than one sleepless night, now it's just the small

job of performing at the Royal Festival Hall.

I don't know who's more nervous, me or them.

It looks like a packed house but we knew that was the case.

I just can't wait to get on there now and do it.

Playing the Festival Hall is always daunting.

For me ? so it will be exciting for the others.

The first half seems to whizz by and soon it's time

Will you please say hello to Lily Kerbey who's

# There's a ghost of you in my Haunted Heart

She certainly did her mum and nana proud.

The minute I know that mum or dad

I came and sat down in my seat and everyone was like,

Marc and the college musicians treat the audience to some

And the crowd ? as they say ? go wild!

Such a thrill and an honour for me to work

on stage with such fantastic musicians, fantastic people ?

the arrangements, the choir ? absolutely everything was wonderful.

I couldn't have dreamt of anything more.

That's all from here in beautiful north Yorkshire. Make sure you join

us next time.