A disabled man enslaved by his wife and carer who were having an affair has spoken out for the first time.
Tom Somerset-How, 40, was kept in bed for 90 per cent of the time, only allowed to shower once a week, and was only left with crisps and a sandwich for food, a court heard.
His wife, Sarah Somerset-How, and her lover George Webb were convicted of enslaving the history graduate last Friday in the first ever case of its kind.
Prosecutors said the couple treated her husband - who suffers from cerebral palsy and needs 24-hour care - as a "cash cow", spending his inheritance and buying themselves lingerie and DJ equipment.
They were accused of barely keeping him alive while treating him "like a piece of property".
Mr Somerset-How described the moment he heard the guilty verdicts following a four week trial at Portsmouth Crown Court, Hampshire, as "absolutely beautiful".
He said: "The cherry on top was hearing the Tannoy telling Sarah's lawyers to 'come to the cells'. It was so satisfying to get retribution.
"The fact that they're not swanning around thinking they got away with it - they're locked up in a dark cell."
Mr Somerset-How met his wife in 2008 through Gina Zeelie, a friend who worked with Mrs Somerset-How.
At this time, he was living in sheltered accommodation and recovering from surgery.
In 2010, they moved into a purpose-built bungalow in Chichester, West Sussex, and had 24-hour care paid for by social services during the week, with his wife providing weekend cover.
The couple married in 2012.
Mr Somerset-How said: "Sarah was actually really lovely. We met through Gina, I was having a bad time and she said she had a friend I could talk to.
"I don't go for physical attractiveness, I just want them to love and see me as I am."
Webb, working for healthcare agency NursePlus, arrived in 2016 to help care for him, with the three of them living in the same house.
This then transitioned into private care, paid for by Mr Somerset-How at a rate of £4,000 a month. In 2018, the jury concluded, the couple began to abuse him.
When Webb first joined as his carer, everything seemed normal.
Mr Somerset-How said: "It was really easy at the start. I'm a social chameleon. I will adapt my interests to someone else's. I got into football because they liked it. Sarah really likes football.
"In the first month of George joining he was actually really good. It just got to the point where he got his feet under the table and that was it, he was done now.
"I enjoy football, but I thought I had to be extra invested. If I shared George's interests he would speak to me.
"It got bad within a month. He was my carer, I looked past it. I thought it was just a glitch. I knew he had anxiety, and because of the way my life is, with whatever my carer had, I tried to make their life easier.
"At the start, we would still do days out. Sarah would take me out every few months."
However, his feelings began to change.
"I said to Sarah 'you have fired so many carers for so much less, why is he still here?'," he said. "She would just say he has us over a barrel."
The trial heard that Mrs Somerset-How and Webb had deliberately isolated her husband from his family including mother Helen and West End actress Kate.
Mr Somerset-How said he started to suspect the affair when he heard sexual noises coming from the living room at 2am.
"But they wouldn't admit it," he said. "Once when I was in the bathroom they came into the shower and were having a water fight. She was giggling like a schoolgirl.
"They would go to his DJ studio for eight hours a day. They took me to one football match and then said it was too difficult to take me so they went on their own.
"The crystallising detail was that we called an ambulance for George because he thought he was having a heart attack and Sarah was in tears, she was beside herself.
"He was the carer - if it was me, her husband, I'd understand. There was no reason for it. He was fine."
In texts read out to the court, Webb had messaged Mrs Somerset How: "Get rid of him. Go find yourself a man. I think you need to leave Tom and get your life back."
And Mrs Somerset-How messaged Webb about taking money from her husband's account, remarking: "Remember, we are just using him."
Mr Somerset-How's actress twin sister Kate, who has appeared in Silent Witness and Holby City, told the court she had to "ambush" the carer to gain access to her brother, who she found in "squali" conditions.
She told jurors that her brother was "disorientated and very, very thin".
The court heard his weight had plummeted to 6 stones 10lbs, and he was found unwashed in "disgusting" living conditions.
The jury was told that, eventually, Mr Somerset-How managed to raise the alarm to Ms Zeelie about how he was being treated and she alerted his parents.
They then staged a rescue with police and social services, 'an operation that had the marks of extracting someone as a hostage', the court heard.
"When I got in touch with Gina and I was waiting to be rescued, I was like a cat on a hot tin roof," he said. "We tried to get the police because of George's volatility but we were told there was no one available.
"The minibus to take me away was supposed to park around the corner and they were supposed to come when they weren't there to take me away. But they drove it right up to the front door and said 'we're here to take Tom away'.
"Me and the social worker were like 'really?' It happened all at once. I don't think George and Sarah registered it."
Mr Somerset-How said he only attended court to give evidence for the prosecution and to hear the the verdict.
He said: "It was easier to stay away. I didn't want to see them undo all the emotional work I have done since."
Mr Somerset-How is now living in residential accommodation in Bognor Regis, West Sussex.
He said: "It would be great if I could go back to the house, but also it holds so many memories. It was custom-built for me.
"I am grateful for the place I am now. If it wasn't for them I would be dead. The state that I was in...both physically and emotionally. My friend didn't even recognise me.
"I don't sleep anymore. I was in a dark room all the time with just a bedside table lamp. I tried to sleep in complete darkness when I got out but I couldn't. I sleep with two bedside lights on - it's not a conscious thing.
"I sleep only three of four hours a night before waking up. It's because I spent those four years too scared to sleep. I didn't feel safe.
"When I was giving me evidence, I heard audible gasps from the jury. My family told me they were crying. I don't want sympathy, I just don't want it to happen to anyone else.
"Psychologically, I can't trust anyone at face value anymore. I'm just thinking 'what's your agenda?'"
At the conclusion of the trial, Webb, 50, and Mrs Somerset-How, 49, were found guilty of holding a person in slavery or servitude.
Webb was also convicted of ill-treatment by a care worker while Mrs Somerset-How, an executive assistant who has worked for accountancy firm KPMG and lawyers Irwin Mitchell, has been convicted of aiding and abetting him from 2017 to 2020.
According to prosecutors, the Somerset-How slavery case is the first of its kind, as the charge usually applies to victims who have been trafficked from abroad or forced to work for no pay.
They were remanded in custody and will be sentenced at a later date.
Mr Somerset-How added: "My family has been amazing. I'm very lucky that I have very close friends too. They said they felt guilty and they're never letting me out of their sight again. I appreciate it. I know there are multiple people watching my back.
"I've grown from the experience.
"I know that others who are going through a similar thing might not have this support network. There needs to be a change. Social workers can't just talk to the carer, they need to talk to the person directly.
"I just hope my experience helps people."
