A ROMANIAN man who claims he was forced to work for nothing by a couple living on benefits was a drunk telling “bare-faced lies,” a jury heard today.

Marius Florea alleges he was threatened and punched in the face when he complained that he was ending up with nothing while earning £1,000 a month.

Mr Florea, 39, accuses fellow Romania nationals Adrian Bostan and Mioara Toma of taking his identity card and bank details when he began working, through the Blue Arrow Agency, at the DHL packaging company in Sherburn in Elmet, near Leeds, in November 2014.

The married couple, of Redmire Street, Thornbury, Bradford, deny intentionally arranging or facilitating Mr Florea’s arrival or entry into the UK intending to exploit him, and knowingly holding him in servitude for six months.

Bradford Crown Court has heard that Mr Florea came to Bradford in a van from Brasov in October 2014.

He lived with the defendants in Petrie Road, Thornbury, until April 2015 when they all moved to the address in Redmire Street.

Mr Florea, speaking on a video link, said all his wages went into Bostan’s pocket, except a bare minimum for cigarettes and alcohol.

When he complained, he said Bostan attacked him.

“He punched me with such force that I flew backwards for about two metres and I banged my head against the wall,” he told the jury.

Cross-examined by Bostan’s barrister, Nick Worsley, Mr Florea agreed that the couple bought him a return flight to Romania to attend his father’s funeral.

He said he chose not to go because “it was already too late.”

Mr Florea denied being a heavy drinker who was drunk nearly every day.

“You cannot go to work if you are drunk,” he stated.

Mr Worsley alleged he was paying £80 a week for his bed and board and cashed some of his work cheques at Cash Converters.

It is alleged that Mr Florea went to the police in May 2015 because Bostan told him to leave his house because of his drunken behaviour.

Mr Worsley accused him of telling “bare-faced lies in court to get his things back and to get your own back.”

Mr Florea denied ringing Bostan and telling him to pay him £1,000 or he “would regret it.”

The trial continues.