Woman Endures Quarter-Century of Captivity and Forced Labour in Gloucestershire Home
A woman with learning disabilities was subjected to what a judge described as a "Dickensian" imprisonment, forced to work as a domestic slave for more than twenty-five years in a Tewkesbury household. The victim, now in her forties, was held captive in squalid conditions from her teenage years until police intervention in 2021.
Systematic Abuse and Deprivation Uncovered
The court heard harrowing details of the victim's ordeal at Gloucester Crown Court. Amanda Wixon, 56, was found guilty of false imprisonment, requiring forced or compulsory labour, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The victim moved into Wixon's home in the mid-1990s for what was supposed to be a weekend stay but remained trapped there for decades.
Prosecutor Sam Jones told the jury the woman had effectively "disappeared from society." She was regularly beaten by Wixon, had washing-up liquid squirted down her throat, bleach splashed on her face, and her head repeatedly shaved against her will. The victim survived on scraps of food, was forbidden from washing herself properly, and could only clean secretly at night.
Appalling Living Conditions and Social Services Failures
When police officers finally attended the property in March 2021 following a tip-off, they discovered overcrowded, mould-infested rooms with plaster hanging from walls and rubbish accumulating in the garden. The victim's bedroom resembled a prison cell, while other bedrooms were described as untidy and filthy.
Body-worn camera footage revealed the woman appearing thin, timid, unwashed, and fearful, displaying a bruise she attributed to Wixon. Medical examination showed scarring to her lips and face, along with large calluses on her feet and ankles from constantly cleaning floors on her hands and knees.
Shockingly, despite social services involvement with the family in the late 1990s, there were no records of contact for the following two decades. The victim had no medical or dental records during this period and hadn't seen a doctor in twenty years. Like others in the household, she lost many teeth due to poor dental hygiene.
Neighbour Testimonies and Defence Claims
Neighbours occasionally glimpsed the woman in the garden, with one describing her as "looking like something out of a concentration camp" and another claiming she was just "skin and bone." One neighbour reported seeing her being hit with a broom, while another referred to Wixon in a social media post as a "slavekeeper."
Defence barrister Edward Hollingsworth described the prosecution case as a "tale of fantasy and lies," arguing that while the woman had been neglected, she hadn't been violently abused. He pointed out that the victim remained on the electoral roll until 2022 and that the benefits agency knew of her presence. Hollingsworth questioned why, if she were truly a house slave, the home remained cluttered and filthy.
Financial Exploitation and Eventual Escape
Gloucestershire police revealed that Wixon had been claiming benefits for the victim since 2000, with payments going directly into her bank account. Despite this, the victim lived in poverty, wearing hand-me-down clothes while being forced to serve family meals, wash dishes, and sort laundry. She was forbidden from washing herself but made to bathe Wixon's children.
The situation escalated when Wixon discovered the victim had been given a mobile phone, hitting her around the face with it to give her a black eye before smashing the device with a hammer. In March 2021, feeling unwell, the victim used another secret mobile phone to contact someone for help, leading to police intervention.
Aftermath and Official Responses
Since her rescue, the victim has been living with a foster family, attending college, and has been on holidays abroad. She continues to suffer nightmares about her ordeal and maintains a constant urge to clean, but has grown her hair as she always wished.
Detective Constable Emma Jackson from Gloucestershire police commended the victim's courage in reaching out for help, noting she "kept an extremely vulnerable victim captive in appalling conditions for over two decades." Senior Crown Prosecutor Laura Burgess added that Wixon had subjected the victim to "decades of unimaginable cruelty, exploitation and control," denying her freedom, dignity, and basic autonomy.
Judge Lawrie, noting the "Dickensian quality" to the case, will sentence Wixon in March. The case has raised serious questions about safeguarding failures and how a vulnerable adult could disappear from official records for such an extended period in modern Britain.
