A German man has been arrested after his wife was discovered after 12 years of captivity at their home in France.

The woman, also German, was semi-naked with her head shaved when they found her in a bedroom in the apartment, a French police source told AFP.

Police said the bedroom where the woman was found was closed off with metal wire at the residence in Forbach, eastern France, on the German border.

The 55-year-old man is being held on suspicion of kidnap and other offences.

The woman, who is 53, was believed to have gained access to a phone and called police in Germany, who alerted their French colleagues, the police source said.

The man, who is also facing allegations of aggravated rape and torture, is being held in the eastern French city of Metz, broadcaster BFMTV said.

Germany’s Bild newspaper interviewed neighbours, who said the suspect told them his wife had cancer and was “screaming in pain because of her illness”.

French media reports also said police found a diary-type notebook in the flat, in which it was believed the man kept a record of his actions, including the times he gave his wife food.