A MOTHER whose teenage son earned just £18 for a 14- hour day has accused a Devizes employment firm of taking advantage of young people.

She was furious that her 17-year-old son got so little cash for his long and tiring day, which involved a 300-mile journey.

She visited Workbase Resources in Wine Street to complain about his treatment but was not satisfied with the reply.

The woman said: "I think it is grossly unfair, not just on my son, but on all of the workers on that bus. I feel they have been taken advantage of and it is a very bad introduction to the world of work.

"My son will now think that's how it works. Employers are just out to exploit you, and it needn't be like that. I was very angry when I heard about it."

But this week the firm's managing director Kay Kennedy apologised for the boy's treatment and pledged to try harder to find youngsters like him better paid work in the future.

The teenager, who has asked not to be named, signed on with Workbase Resources to earn some money in between finishing at school and starting work as an IT technician.

His mother, who works for a Devizes company, said: "He was told it was a catering job and it would be a long day, but he wasn't told where he was going or how far he would be travelling."

The young man was picked up in Melksham town centre at 6.30am. He maintains he was still not told where he was going, although he asked more than once.

In fact, the minibus with 15 mainly young workers on board, was bound for the American Air Museum at Duxford, a few miles south of Cambridge, about 150 miles from Devizes. Staff at Workbase insist all the workers were told their destination and how much they would be paid.

Once they arrived at the centre, they served teas and coffees to former American aircrew who had arrived for the commemoration of a memorial to 30,000 Americans who died flying from the UK in the Second World War.

They were paid £4.50 an hour for four hours work and each received £18.

The young man returned home to Melksham at 8pm that evening. His mother said: "He was absolutely exhausted. The agency said they didn't pay for the time spent travelling and I just think it is ridiculous that he and all the others on the minibus had this long and exhausting day for so little money."

Ken Kennedy, managing director of Workbase Resources, said: "I agree that £18 is a very poor outcome for such a long day. I am very sorry this young man feels he has been put through a bad experience."

But he added: "We are in a very competitive sector and catering is particularly badly paid. In order to get the work we have to be competitive so we have to keep our overheads down.

"None of the workers were bound to accept this work. They could have turned it down without any comeback. Our staff are very important to us."

The rate of £4.50 is higher than the national minimum wage, which stands at £3.60 an hour for workers aged 18 to 21, and £4.20 for workers over 22.

Debbie Snook, manager of Devizes Job Centre in Maryport Street, said she had never come across anything like this. She said the unemployment rate in Devizes, at 1.2 per cent, was among the lowest in the country and there was no need for workers to travel far afield to find employment.

Because of the large number of vacancies at local firms, workers are frequently bussed into Devizes from as far afield as Coventry and Birmingham.