Argentine man 'kept wife and son locked up for years'

Police in Argentina have charged a man they say kept his wife and adult son locked up in a cell for several years with unlawful imprisonment.

They say the filthy room at the back of Edgardo Oviedo's home in the coastal city of Mar del Plata had an iron door, locked from the outside.

It had plates of dog food they believe was given to the woman and her son.

 Oviedo, 66, put up no resistance when police raided the house on Friday. He denies the charges.

The authorities say the woman has psychiatric problems and her son, who is 32, can barely speak.

 Oviedo, a construction worker and a former union leader, was arrested after a tip-off from two other sons, who live in the same neighbourhood.

They said they had initially been too scared of their father to report him.

Prosecutor Alejandro Pellegrini said the house had "a room in the worst of human conditions".

He said he was shocked by what he found: "You read the report but we can't believe it until you get there."