Migrant fruit pickers charged thousands in illegal fees to work on UK farms, investigation shows

Evidence appears to show illicit payments taken from workers harvesting produce for M&S, Tesco and Waitrose

Ditya*, a single mother from Nepal, is used to travelling abroad for work. For years she has made a living as a migrant farm worker, where she can earn several times what she would in her home country. Last year she applied to become part of the UK government's seasonal worker visa scheme, picking fruit and vegetables on a farm in Herefordshire that supplies fresh produce to Marks & Spencer (M&S), Tesco and Waitrose.

Ditya got the job, but it came at a huge cost. In order to secure it, she says she had to pay more than 3,000 - almost a third of what she earned during the six-month post - to recruitment agents.