Amanda Wixon, 56, forced the woman - now in her 40s - to shave her hair, regularly beat her if she didn't complete jobs around the home, and made her live off "scraps" of food.

It's also understood that while being held, Wixon, a mother of 10, stole more than £100,000 in benefits from the victim.

Wixon will serve two-thirds of her sentence.

Police officers who arrived at the house in Tewskesbury, Gloucestershire, following a tip-off from one of Wixon's sons in March 2021, described the victim's bedroom as looking like a "prison cell".

They found a basic bed with filthy sheets, bare plaster walls with mould growing on them and no light bulb.

The woman, who we can only identify as "K", has learning difficulties and knew Wixon when she was a child, through family connections.

In 1996, she was taken into Wixon's home at the age of 16.

Police say that Wixon kept her in squalid conditions for more than two decades, forced her to look after her children, locking her in the house and depriving her of food, health and dental care.

The jury heard she was beaten with a broom handle, knocking out her teeth, had washing-up liquid squirted down her throat and bleach splashed on her face.

Wixon did not allow "K" to wash herself, something she did in secret at night.

The court heard how Wixon had strangled the victim and pushed her head down the toilet.

Wixon had benefits for the victim paid into her bank account from the late 1990s, receiving more than £100,000 over the years.

After being removed from the address, doctors described "K" as "malnourished" - noting scarring around her mouth, thought to be due to contact with cleaning fluids.

Calluses were found on her ankles, consistent with the victim's account of spending hours on her knees sweeping the floor.

During sentencing, Judge Ian Lawrie KC said Wixon was in "permanent denial" about her offending.

"The gravity of your offending is so serious that I am imposing a significant period of custody," he said.

He added: "This offending was not isolated and was persistent over many years."

The victim now lives with a foster family, attends college and has been on holidays abroad.

In a statement read to the court, the victim said: "For 25 years, I lived in fear, control and abuse. I was treated as though my life, my freedom and my voice did not matter.

"Although my abuser has now been found guilty, the trauma and the nightmares are something I still carry with me every day."

K's new foster mother described how she "had to take her to the doctors and get lots of appointments and try and feed her and show her love... She wasn't used to things like that".

She described how when K first arrived to live with her, "she didn't want me to hug her", but that after weeks of support and hard work, she "turned around and started being loving".

Wixon was convicted in January at Gloucester Crown Court of modern-day slavery offences, including two counts of requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour, one count of false imprisonment and three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

She was found not guilty of a further count of assault.

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Outside court, Gloucestershire Police detective chief inspector Dave Shore-Nye said: "There is no prison sentence that could reflect the pain and suffering (Wixon) has inflicted on the victim, or bring back the decades she stole from her."

Detective Superintendent Ian Fletcher, also from Gloucestershire Constabulary said this was one of the "worst cases" he had ever seen.

"The pure longevity of the harm that's been caused, nearly 25 years of suffering and pain. This is one of the most horrific crimes I've seen investigated by Gloucestershire."

The teenager was injured in the shooting in Toxteth at an address at Lime Grove, off Lodge Lane, at 12.55am on Thursday.

Investigators believe the shooting was a "targeted attack by someone known to the victim", Merseyside Police said.

The young victim has been taken to hospital for assessment, police said.

Detective Inspector Ainsley McAlice said: "These are the critical early stages of our investigation, and we are looking to establish exactly what happened, where it happened, and to find the person responsible.

"We understand the concern that… any such incident will have in our communities, and initially believe that this was a targeted attack by someone known to the victim."

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DI McAlice urged anyone with information or footage of the shooting to come forward, adding that there would be a visible police presence in the inner-city area of Liverpool on Thursday.

"If you know anything or live locally and saw the incident or anyone making off around Lodge Lane or towards Sefton Park, please come forward as a matter of urgency," DI McAlice said.

"Your CCTV, doorbell footage or other information could be vital evidence.

"Officers will remain in the area today, gathering evidence and speaking to people locally to provide reassurance, so contact us directly or anonymously via Crimestoppers."

It is not yet clear how much it will cost, but it's longstanding policy for taxpayers to contribute up to a maximum of £3,000 for any death in custody. It is understood the process will include no mourners and no ceremony.

However, this does not necessarily mean Huntley's next of kin will not attend.

The double murderer, 52, died in hospital on Saturday after allegedly being attacked at the high security jail HMP Frankland, in Durham.

Anthony Russell, 43, is accused of murdering Huntley and is due to appear at Newcastle Crown Court on Thursday.

Huntley, who was known as the Soham killer after murdering 10-year-old friends Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002, had been in a critical condition in hospital.

Sky News understands the prison service will pay for a basic cremation, and will return Huntley's ashes to his mother as next of kin.

No date has yet been set, while the exact monetary contribution by the prison service has not been decided upon, but it's expected to fall below the maximum contribution of £3,000.

Previous prisoners who have had their costs paid for by the state, include Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe in 2020, and Raymond Morris in 2014.

The money is only permitted to be paid directly to a funeral director, and can only be used to cover "reasonable costs", which includes a 'simple' coffin, hearse, as well as cremation or burial fees. The money is not allowed for a headstone, flowers, or order of service sheets.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson previously said, "the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman remains one of the most shocking and devastating cases in our nation's history, and our thoughts are with their families".

"We stopped all humanitarian activity. We cannot work. All the offices are closing because of the drones - some of the area has been evacuated. WFP staff left two days ago from the area, anticipating drone strikes," he says.

Drone warfare has made Sudan's war a death trap for a population of more than 46 million people as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) battle for territory.

The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, an independent global monitor, has documented at least 198 drone strikes in Sudan launched by both sides in the first two months of 2026. At least 52 of them involved civilian casualties, killing 478 people.

"For us, when we hear the sound - we just rush and hide ourselves. We run to the river, and sometimes we can go into our foxhole. We go to the town and go to where there are no buildings sometimes," says Zaki.

The area he operates in has been ravaged by armed rebellion and state violence for decades, but this time is different.

A dangerous new depth to warfare

"This war is quite different. This time they are using too many drones. Before - 20 years or 30 years ago - they did not use these drones, it was just a normal clash," he says.

Drone warfare has added dangerous depth to Sudan's humanitarian catastrophe by making safe aid delivery and emergency response virtually impossible in some of the hardest-hit areas.

"No food, no medical care, no sanitation," says Zaki. People scrambling to safety are left with little to no option of sanctuary.

:: Have drones changed war forever?

Sky News analysis and mapping of ACLED data has found that deadly drone attacks are spread across Sudan and the number of civilian casualties is rapidly rising.

For the third consecutive day of new drone strikes on the southern White Nile state, an RSF drone hit a secondary school and shelter killing at least 17 people - mostly school girls - and injuring 10 others on Wednesday.

In just a two-day window in mid-February, more than 60 people were reported to have been killed by drones launched by both sides, with at least 15 children killed in a single Sudanese military drone strike on a shelter.

In January, a drone strike on N'djamena market in South Kordofan's Dilling county killed 13 people and a month earlier, a triple drone strike by the RSF on a kindergarten and hospital in the same state killed 114 people - including 43 children.

Detentions and deportations

The walls are closing in on civilians dealing with escalating violence as borders close. Drone strikes are spread across the eastern border to the west - even hitting the territory of neighbouring Chad which hosts close to a million Sudanese refugees.

Chad recently closed its border with Sudan after multiple cross-border attacks by the RSF. Other neighbouring countries like South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Libya are dealing with the danger of their own civil wars and are increasingly unsafe for refugees.

Egypt, a key safe haven for Sudanese refugees, is now deporting them en masse. Hundreds of thousands are now facing fear of detention, deportation, and death as Egyptian authorities unleash a brutal crackdown. The Sudanese embassy in Cairo has said that 578 Sudanese citizens have been deported back to Sudan in December and January.

Affected families have told Sky News that their status as asylum seekers with the United Nations Refugee agency (UNHCR) is often ignored as their loved ones are picked up. Dozens of missing person posts are being shared on Facebook to trace those suspected of being detained or deported.

"They took us to prison, and we were terrified. I have never been imprisoned before - in Sudan or elsewhere - and was shocked by the sight of the prison. It felt like we were in a soap opera," a Sudanese refugee who was detained by the Egyptian authorities told Sky News.

He was a taxi driver in the Sudanese city of Al Fashir. He eventually fled the regional capital - where the RSF are accused of committing genocide and killing 6,000 people in just three days of capture - and went to Egypt for his safety.

"They split us up into four groups, and we were around 110 to a single cell. There was violence from the police and then violence within the cell from embedded guards. You are constantly dodging both."

An 18-year-old called Al-Nazeer Al Sadiq was also kept in one of these cells. He was arrested from a neighbourhood in Cairo and the three friends with him at the time were deported. He eventually died in detention.

"He did not have any illness - he was healthy when they picked him up," his brother tells us from Sudan's capital Khartoum.

"The first day my mother visited him he was mentally exhausted and not at peace. There were three visits and each time he was deteriorating more and more - right until he died."

Al-Nazeer's family have returned to Sudan, despite the risks. The Egyptian government did not respond to our request for comment.

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UK's asylum crackdown brought into focus

Here in the UK, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood implemented an emergency ban on study visas for students from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Cameroon, and Sudan to slow asylum claims. This has meant that Sudan's best and brightest minds - at least 210 students - are being prevented from pursuing scholarships to some of the UK's best universities.

At least 22 of them were meant to study at the University of Oxford, and 39 of them were accepted in a UK government-funded Chevening scholarship for emerging leaders.

On the ban, Ms Mahmood said: "Britain will always provide refuge to people fleeing war and persecution, but our visa system must not be abused. That is why I am taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity. I will restore order and control to our borders."

But the students impacted believe that they are facing the compounded cruelty of Sudan's war.

'It's heartbreaking'

"What's especially painful about the current situation is that the data simply doesn't justify a blanket decision like this," says Rawan, who has been blocked from enrolling in her dream masters programme in international health at the University of Oxford after being accepted.

"The Home Office has pointed to a 300% increase in asylum claims from Sudanese students, from 30 to 120 cases over five years. But when you look at the bigger picture, those 120 cases represent only about 0.1% of total asylum claims in the UK."

She continued: "It's heartbreaking to see how we're also villainising the students who sought asylum as they are not manipulating the system, they are fleeing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with more than 14 million Sudanese people displaced by the war.

"There is definitely a general sense of helplessness."

This war is becoming a dead end as borders close and drones stalk the skies. Aid workers like Zaki do not know what to tell the people scrambling for safety.

"They get confused about where they can go to feel peace - they go to South Sudan, there is a problem. They go to Ethiopia, there is a problem," says Zaki.

Juan Joseph, 43, is on trial accused of breaching the Official Secrets Act at the Old Bailey, where most of the case will be heard behind closed doors on national security grounds.

The media and the public are not allowed in court to hear evidence about the "one or more countries" he was in contact with or the nature of the information he leaked, which was allegedly "damaging to UK national interests".

The judge, Mr Justice Hilliard, told the jury: "In this case some of the matters have got to be dealt with in closed proceedings, that's proceedings where members of the public are excluded."

He said during closed proceedings jurors must leave their belongings and electronic items outside the courtroom and must never discuss what is said with others, even after the trial has finished, which would be a contempt of court and a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment.

Opening the public part of the case, prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward KC said Joseph worked as an IT contractor for MI5 - and occasionally another organisation within the UK Intelligence Community - from September 2009 until 30 October 2020.

But his "Developed Vetting", which allowed him access to information of the highest classification, was withdrawn and his contract was terminated after he developed mental health problems.

The court heard he raised a number of grievances against MI5, culminating in trying to bring a private prosecution against the security service at Westminster Magistrates' Court in August 2024.

When that failed, he tried to launch a judicial review at the High Court in November 2024, allegedly sending an email containing sensitive information to recipients, including an email address linked to a foreign state, as part of the process.

Joseph flew to Riga on 8 December 2024 and was arrested on his return to Gatwick a week later on 15 December, refusing to let police access his five phones, laptop and tablet, because he claimed he was an MI5 officer.

But a later examination of his device revealed two photographs taken near the embassy of the foreign state and two emails sent to the embassy seeking a meeting.

In one email titled "meeting in Latvia, Riga (foreign state) Embassy", he asked to talk to representatives of the state and disclosed protected information.

Ms Ledward said: "It is clear that the defendant's trip to Riga was for the purpose of attempting to make physical contact with representatives of the foreign state through their embassy in Riga, in order to disclose protected information to them."

Joseph allegedly sent another email addressed to the Independent Office for Police Conduct watchdog complaining about his arrest at Gatwick, which also contained sensitive information relating to security or intelligence.

He was arrested at the IBIS hotel in Sutton, on 30 January 2025, carrying a lock-knife in his jacket pocket, when he claimed to be an armed MI5 officer.

When officers searched his nearby home, they found a homemade MI5 ID card and a signed copy of the Official Secrets Act declaration.

Joseph told police he continued to work for MI5 remotely and denied disclosing anything impermissible or trying to damage the UK.

The court heard there is no dispute Joseph sent the emails or was in possession of the knife, but the issues concern his state of mind.

Jurors were told he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and was mentally ill at the time of the offences and they must decide whether that affords him a defence to the charge by reason of insanity.

The jury heard he was "labouring under a terrible delusion that he had been a victim of a terrible wrong", that he was being silenced in his efforts to complain, and that he needed to escalate his complaint to a foreign power.

Joseph denies five charges, including two counts of making a damaging disclosure relating to security or intelligence under the Official Secrets Act, disclosing information and engaging in conduct in preparation of disclosing information under the National Security Act, and having an offensive weapon.

The trial, which is due to last up to 2 April, continues.