The number of known victims of human trafficking and labour exploitation in Bradford will be the “tip of the iceberg”, according to a charity.

National charity Hope for Justice, which works to get victims to safety and bring criminal gangs to justice, has been receiving a lot of information about trafficking in Bradford.

As the Telegraph & Argus reported on Monday, Streetwise, a project handing out free meals on the streets, has seen Eastern European immigrants turning to them for food because they were being paid as little as £5 a day, if that, by exploitative employers.

Project leader Les Szpakowski said on two or three occasions, it had contacted Hope for Justice when it became clear people were being exploited.

Hope for Justice operations director Jeremy Alford said there was no way of knowing how many people were being trafficked to Bradford by criminal gangs, but that the official figures were likely to be the “tip of the iceberg”.

He said: “We are aware there’s a problem in Bradford but we are also aware there’s a problem across the UK.

“We do have a lot of information that comes to us that relates to Bradford but that’s not to say that Bradford is necessarily any worse than many of the other cities around and about.”

Mr Alford said victims of labour exploitation, often men, were from a variety of backgrounds and some were professionals who could not find work in their own country.

He said once in the UK they could be forced to work at car washes, building sites, factories and farms, or even as domestic servants for the traffickers, while living in cramped accommodation.

He said: “It is almost always the case that there are lots of people sharing one premises in very poor conditions.”

Mr Alford said once a charity or organisation such as Streetwise reported a potential victim to Hope for Justice, its workers came out to meet the person. He said: “We send someone out to speak to the person and confirm, as is often the case, that we also believe them to be trafficked.

“They will have clearly been subject to crime so if they want to report the matter to police then we will help them with that.

“But whether through fear of authority in their own country, or for fear of repercussions against their families in their own country, many initially don’t want the police to be involved.”

He said when that was the case, the charity helped to get them into a safe house.

Bradford charity Hope Housing, which helps homeless people into accommodation, has highlighted Eastern and Central European migrants in its film The Not So Promised Land.

Shot in squats, outbuildings and makeshift shelters in Bradford, it focuses on migrants from the A8 countries – the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia – with free movement around the EU.

The men came here following offers of work from “friends” who turned out to be criminal gangs taking their passports and papers, leaving them unable to register for work.

Eastern European migrants also make up a third of those helped by Inn Churches, which provides winter shelter in churches around the district.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “When evidence of people trafficking, or any exploiting of the vulnerable comes to our attention then, as with all crimes, we will investigate the matter and look to bring offenders to justice.”