Homeless men in Japan are reportedly being recruited to clean up the disaster-stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant.

A massive earthquake and tsunami in the nation’s northeast coast set off multiple meltdowns at the nuclear plant almost three years ago.

The Japanese Government pledged 47 billion yen (£0.3bn) towards cleaning up the power plant in September last year as it is running behind schedule.

One of the homeless men claimed to have scrubbed down radioactive hotspots in the Fukushima power plant twice, according to reports.

He was reported as saying: “We’re an easy target for recruiters. We turn up here with all our bags… and are easy to spot. They say to us ‘Are you looking for work? Are you hungry?’ and if we haven’t eaten anything, then they offer to find us a job.”

Six workers were exposed to radioactive material at the Fukushima plant in October following a leak.