A twenty-man sea shanty group have publicly denied rumours that they are involved with a modern slavery investigation.

The rumours come after Devon & Cornwall Police arrested six men on modern slavery offences after finding possible victims involved in a crash between a lorry and a van in Tavistock on May 19.

The six men arrested on suspicion of modern-day slavery offences have now been bailed as police enquiries continue.

Since the collision, anonymous websites and reddit threads have surfaced linking a sea shanty band called the Old Time Sailors to the modern slavery investigation.

On Facebook the group said: “As many of you will now be aware there has been some recent scandalous accusations, speculation and fabrications about Old Time Sailors. We are aware of a number of articles currently online and categorically state that none of what is being said is the actual truth. It is what might sadly get acknowledged these days as an online hate campaign. At no point has any of the information been even slightly fact checked.

“FAKE websites and ANONYMOUS , social media posts ARE SUPPOSEDLY TELLING THE TRUTH …but it’s an elaborate web of hate. It is DANGEROUS and highly illegal.

“The true facts are Old Time Sailors are a collective of musicians who tour as a family. Yes its true, we live and travel collectively. WE SHARE our costs and overheads. We just have a love of music and performing. Why is this happening? WE ASKED THE SAME QUESTION. The sad fact is a certain crew member parted ways with the band, and following this we received a very threatening email indicating what could BE MADE to happen if we did not do certain things. BUT we didn’t respond, and then suddenly it happened. Accusations, lies, horror stories and ruinous allegations.

“We still choose to focus on performing - living the free life we chose, and making connections with local communities. We teach and learn new music as we go along and have fun while we travel around. IT IS WHAT WE ARE ALL ABOUT. WE ALL KNOW it’s never right to make assumptions about ANYONES situation, or glean so called ‘facts’ from anonymous social media posts. We will instead focus on what we have put all our efforts into; the music and performing. We love our fans so thank you for all the support and we hope to see you at a show soon.”

The Old Time Sailors describe themselves as an “immersive experience of traditional seafaring music performed in a way never been seen before.”

They encourage their fans to dress as pirates and dance along like drunken sailors.

The sea-shanty band have previously performed at popular festivals such as Glastonbury, Boomtown, Latitude and Neighbourhood Weekender and are very popular in the South West.

After the arrest in Tavistock, local policing sergeant Tom Ottley said: “As part of our response to the initial incident, we identified several of the occupants of the van as being potential victims of exploitation offences.

“They are receiving specialist support and being safeguarded at this time.

“Shortly after, officers carried out a search at an address in the Gulworthy area which led to the identification of further potential victims.

“We worked alongside the local authority and partner agencies yesterday in safeguarding these individuals and their support was very much appreciated.

“As part of this investigation, we have arrested six males on suspicion of modern-day slavery offences.

“We appreciate the activity yesterday may have caused some confusion and concern amongst the local community. Our officers will be out-and-about today so please do come and discuss any concerns with us.

“We also ask for anyone who has any concerns or information regarding the incident to contact us via 101 quoting 50240216490.”