Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Simon is considered to be one of America's greatest singer-songwriters

Paul Simon and his wife Edie Brickell have been arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, according to New Canaan Police in Connecticut.

Officers were called to the couple's New Canaan home at about 20:00 local time (01:00 BST) on Saturday to investigate "a family dispute".

The pair, who have been married for more than 20 years, appeared in Norwalk Superior Court on Monday.

A police spokesman said there had been "aggressiveness on both sides".

At a news conference on Monday, police chief Leon Krolikowski said a caller from the singers' Connecticut home phoned police on Saturday night and then hung up.

Officers who responded found minor injuries and believed it was a case of domestic violence, he went on. He did not confirm who was injured.

Simon and Brickell, he said, were each given a misdemeanor summons. One of them - again unspecified - agreed to leave and go to another location.

"They're both victims and they have children involved and we're trying to be very cautious of that," the police chief told reporters.

Image copyright AP Image caption Brickell has three children with Paul Simon

Simon, 72, first found fame as one half of folk duo Simon and Garfunkel, while Brickell, 48, was lead singer of Edie Brickell & New Bohemians.

The folk-rock band had a big hit with their debut single What I Am in 1988, a track subsequently covered by former Spice Girl Emma Bunton in 1999.

Earlier this year Brickell won a Grammy award with Steve Martin for best American roots song, Love Has Come For You.

She is due to start touring in May with Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers across the US and Canada.

Simon, who has won 12 Grammy awards during a 50-year career, played at a benefit concert in New Canaan last autumn, performing The Sound of Silence and Mrs Robinson.

According to local media, the couple have lived in the Connecticut town with their three children for a number of years.