Southern England Farms has condemned the actions of gangmasters Baltic Work Team after workers were reported to be scavenging for food in potato and courgette fields on an SEF farm.

Baltic, who had already had their license revoked but had been allowed to continue business until August 24, had their license revoked with immediate effect by the GLA after they received allegations that 40 Bulgarian workers had not been paid for more than a month.

A spokesman for SEF said that once the company had learned of the allegations, they had severed all links with Baltic and reimbursed all the workers.

“As a responsible employer we deplore how Baltic Work Team has treated its staff and were shocked to learn of the allegations.

“Baltic Work Team were subcontracted by our usual provider and as soon as we became aware of their presence in our supply chain we checked their status with the GLA. This check confirmed that they were licensed but made no mention of the ongoing investigation into them by the GLA.

“SEF carried out checks over and above the official guidance for labour users and yet still we did not uncover evidence of the alleged mistreatment by Baltic Work Team.

“If there is anything to be learned from this episode it is most certainly buyer beware.”