A MAN has been jailed for keeping a man in his 60s, he called his “Scrapyard Dog”, in a squalid shed and stealing £63,000 from him to fund holidays.

James Dean Harrison, 51, from Coventry, forced his victim to do manual labour and stole his universal credit and pension.

Harrison has been jailed for six and a half years Credit: Warwickshire Police

Harrison’s victim was kept in a shed with his wife and Harrison’s dog Credit: Warwickshire Police

Between November 2022 and February 2026 Harrison kept the man in his garden shed after he became homeless and approached Harrison for help.

The man, in his 60s, shared the shed with his partner, a woman in her 50s, and Harrison’s dog.

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A court heard that vile Harrison took the man’s bank cards and refused to return them, giving his victim £30 a day from his own account before reducing it to £20.

A total of £63,625.44 was missing from the pensioner’s account, which police said came from his pension and universal credit.

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It is believed this money was used by Harrison to fund holidays for himself.

Harrison’s victim was forced to work in a scrapyard, painting skips, unloading skips and cleaning lorry cabs.

The man was regularly subjected to verbal and physical abuse, police said, with Harrison referring to him as his “Scrapyard Dog.”

Police launched a probe into the harrowing situation after the victim met with a local councillor regarding emergency housing and the councillor raised concerns.

Harrison was then taken into custody in February and appeared in court and pleaded guilty to requiring a person to perform forced labour.

He has now been jailed for six and a half years for his sick crimes and has been served with a Slavery and Trafficking Reparation Order.

This forces him to pay compensation of £10,000.

Investigating officer DC Hutt of the Trafficking and Exploitation Team said “The treatment that James Dean Harrison subjected the victim to – stripping him of his dignity, his finances, and seriously impacting his health – was appalling in every way.

“He had approached Harrison as a friend in need of help, and Harrison chose to exploit him for labour and to defraud him of his money.

“We might never have heard about this had it not been for the local community and their councillor – we thank them for calling this to our attention, and allowing us to work to put Harrison in prison for his actions.”