A Ukrainian refugee denounced her guests for modern slavery after arguing about childcare and housework.
Hannah Debenham, 42, arranged for the woman and her 10-year-old daughter to stay in her eight-bedroom home in Uckfield, East Sussex, UK as part of the settlement program in June.
But the fractures soon began to manifest, with the mums repeatedly falling out before the NHS mental health specialist asked her to leave.
A few days later, the police knock on the door saying that they had filed a complaint.
Her guest said she was “used as a slave and full-time child minder for little or no pay under the disguise of assisting her in the Ukrainian settlement scheme,” reported Metro.
She was invited to an interview with a modern slavery inspector, something she called “the worst experience of my life”, and she remained under investigation for two months before the case was dismissed for lack of evidence.
Ms Debenham said the Ukrainian mother had received nanny help two or three times a week in exchange for accommodation and a payment of £200.
Things were pretty flat for the “first few weeks of the honeymoon period,” but then soured when Hannah noticed that she “didn’t clear up their dishes and used a new glass every time,” reported Metro.
The women argued several times, including disagreeing that Hannah couldn’t accompany her guest on a date because she was working.
But it all came crashing down when the Ukrainian mother took Hannah’s five-year-old son to a playground.
When the boy said that he needed to go to the bathroom, she apparently told him to go to a nearby field and use the leaves to clean himself.
Ms Debenham said: ‘I felt I could no longer fully trust her with my children and we decided that the arrangement was no longer working for us. I told her that when her benefits came through, she should find somewhere else to live,’ reported Metro.
She said her lawyer described the Sussex police’s subsequent actions as “outrageous overreach”.
But chief investigating inspector Gavin Patch told the Mail Online the investigation was “expedited as quickly as possible” and insisted the force take any allegations of slavery “very seriously”.
Ms Debenham is relieved it’s all over but has felt incredibly stressed.
According to Metro, she said: ‘Now whenever I see a Ukrainian flag in this country I can’t help but feel anger for the people who have no gratitude, no care and no respect for people like me who was naïve and thought I could make this world a better place if I helped by inviting them to live in our home.’
The Ukrainian mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was contacted by MailOnline for comment.
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