A SEX trafficker who brought three women to Bolton to work as prostitutes has been jailed.

Alex Breier, assisted by his wife's son, wife and sisters, forced his victims into three years of sexual slavery, police said.

They would perform a "all sorts of sex" with men, Bolton Crown Court heard, only for their earnings to be pocketed by Hungarian Breier, who would give them just food, shelter and cannabis in return.

The ring came to light only when one of the girls went to police, three years after first coming into contact with Breier.

Breier, aged 41, was today jailed for five years and 10 months, after he pleaded guilty to eight charges relating to human trafficking and controlling prostitution eight days into his trial.

Det Ch Insp Rick Jackson said: "I want to paint a damning picture of exactly what Alex Breier is really like.

"For three years he forced women into a penniless life of sexual slavery and servitude.

"It is that power, that control, that makes it possible for young women to be trafficked into the UK and prostituted against their will.

"However, eventually one of the girls had the courage to speak up and as a result, police in Bolton, assisted by numerous agencies across Europe, have exposed this family for who they really are.

"I would like to personally commend her for her bravery after years of living in fear. Her bravery cannot be overstated."

Over 15 months, the girls, aged 18 and 19 when they arrived in the UK, were forced to work in brothels in Croston Street and Alice Street, Bolton, and Rawsthorne Street, Halliwell, as well as in Oldham, Blackburn and Manchester.

One of the girls, who spoke out, earned money as a prostitute under Breier's guidance, in Holland, Germany and Belgium before coming to the UK.

She endured a difficult upbringing in Hungary, police said, and was forced into sexual servitude aged just 15.

She told the court that she had been controlled by Breier and his family, had been frightened and feared that she would be beaten up or her own family harmed.

Judge Timothy Stead said: "Eventually she had the courage to go the police and expose what had happened to her.

"This was in March, 2014, and by then more than a year had passed since she had been brought to the UK, trafficked for sexual exploitation by Alex Breier."

Breier's wife Alexne, aged 43, son Kristian, both of Wolfenden Street, were jailed for nine months, suspended for a year, after admitting conspiracy to keep a brothel.

His sister Csabane Androvics, aged 24, and her husband, Csaba Androvics, aged 26, of Rawsthorne Street, were given a six-month sentence, suspended for a year, after pleading guilty to the same offence.

Another sister, 39-year-old Katalin Bogdan and her 32-year-old partner, Ferenci Baranyai, both of Croston Street, were given 12-month conditional discharges, after admitting their part in the crime.