A dad of-of-15 forced a man to be his slave and live in a cramped metal shed without a toilet while barely being paid to work.
James McCann brought Hungarian Andras Varga to the North East and kept him in what has been a disturbing case of modern slavery.
Andras was first made to live in a tent near Blyth beach, before being moved to a metal shed in the back garden of McCann's partner's property, the court heard.
He was forced to use a toilet at a supermarket and was forbidden from going into the house, ChonicleLive reports.
When police rescued him he was found dirty and dishevelled.
McCann, 69, was jailed at Newcastle Crown Court for modern slavery.
Andras, who speaks very little English, moved to the UK in 2007 and worked in various places in the south and was treated "well enough" by a family who gave him work.
He ended up living on the streets for a time until someone called Mike started giving him odd jobs for £30 to £40 a day.
Mike then passed him on to McCann, who brought him to the North East in 2017.
Andras was put in a tent next to McCann's caravan at Blyth beach.
He was not allowed to go in the caravan to sleep or wash, and instead was given a small bowl of water to wash in, or did so in the sea or public toilets nearby.
A council officer noticed the tent, and when Andras was spoken to he was "dishevelled and dirty", causing the police to be contacted.
McCann then moved Andras to live in a metal hut or shed in the back garden of his partner's home in Blyth.
It had no sink, washing facilities or toilet and he had to go to a local Lidl store to use the toilet and was not able to wash his clothes.
The electricity was provided by a cable from inside the house.
The only time Andras was allowed in the house was to help with decorating and to take some groceries in.
McCann put the victim to work in menial roles and would pay him £10 to £20 a day doing things like pressure washing drives or gardening, sometimes for five hours a day.
Prosecutor Vince Ward said: "He has exploited Mr Varga for cheap labour."
He added: "Mr Varga was in the UK with no family or friends and he spoke very little English.
"He knew he was being exploited but said it was better for him than living on the streets.
"But he said he might have caught hypothermia and not survived had they not found him."
It was on November 30, 2017, that he was found and rescued by police.
Mr Ward said when Andras was found "he was dishevelled, wearing several layers of clothing and appeared drunk".
McCann told officers Andras preferred to stay in the shed than in the house and said he had lived in there at times.
He claimed he had taken pity on his victim and fed him well.
The court heard the victim has since died of an unrelated illness in Hungary.
McCann, who has 51 previous convictions, including for violence and dishonesty, pleaded guilty to an offence under the Modern Slavery Act of holding Andras in slavery between November 1 and November 30, 2017.
He was jailed for two years and nine months.
Sentencing him, Judge Edward Bindloss said: "In the shed, it was a limited space, with an unfit door and there was a camp bed with a dirty sleeping bag on it.
"There was no toilet or sink or laundry and he had to use a toilet in a supermarket because he was not allowed in the house.
"These offences are always serious because of the lack of autonomy given to a person in his position."
Joe Hedworth, defending, said McCann had suffered heart attacks and had other health problems.
Mr Hedworth added: "He would be offering a sincere apology to Mr Varga if he was still with us, for the distress he caused, unintentionally. He lived in that shed for a significant period of time himself."
He said the financial gain to McCann would have been up to £200, there was no violence used or threatened and said his understanding of the offending was limited.
The court heard McCann didn't go to school or learn to read or write.
