Police in Argentina have rescued a 15-year-old girl from a garage where she had allegedly been locked up with a monkey and a dog from the age of three.

The teenager, who was said to have been fed the same as the animals by her captors, weighed just 3st 1lb when she was found.

Last night the unnamed youngster was in intensive care in hospital in Buenos Aires. Her carers, who were trying to adopt her, were being held in jail.

The teenager is said to have been given away by her poverty-stricken mum, who has six other children, because she was unable to look after her properly.

An older sister alerted police after turning 18 and finding the house where she believed her sibling was kept.

She is understood to have told her rescuers she was only allowed out of the garage twice in the last 12 years and was beaten regularly with a belt by her captors.

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