A middle-aged woman has been locked up in a cage in a dense forest for more than a decade after her brother thought she was mentally unstable.

Disturbing photos of the 42-year-old woman named Xiong Simei have emerged after an 18-year-old student stumbled upon her and could not believe what she was seeing.

Xiao Junyu found Xiong inside the shabby 43-square-foot cage with little clothing to keep her warm and even fewer provisions to keep her fed. The cage, which is situated about 150 yards from the village of Ganxi, in Zhenyuan County in south-western China’s Guizhou Province, is also locked with a padlock.

It has since been revealed her own brother was her jailer.

Xiong’s brother, who was unnamed in reports, said that his sister began suffering from depression and mental illness in around 2000, when she was driven away by her then-husband.

After returning home, her condition caused her to attack others and damage things, which caused him to lock her up while he went to work.

After discovering Xiong’s dire state, the schoolgirl Xiao and several of her friends have been bringing warm clothes and food for the woman, who has yet to be let out of her cage.

According to reports, local government officials have since been in touch and are expected to provide further assistance to the family.