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A man has been caged in a tiny stone cell for 30 years by his own parents after displaying signs of mental illness as a teenager.

Dong Hai, 46, was locked up in the five square metre prison when his mother and father feared he might hurt someone.

Dong Watou and his wife Xiao Hong, from Longhai, southeast China's Fujian Province, built the stone shelter in their garden in 1983.

They caged their then-16-year-old son after he began to show symptoms of mental health issues.

(Image: Rex)

The couple took their son to numerous hospitals in the province, but no one was able to help.

The family spent all the savings in a year and had to suspend his treatment.

They then made what they say was the the hardest decision in their life, to lock Hai away in their garden/

The parents, who are now both nearing 70, fear what will happen to Hai when they die.