The authorities were alerted by staff at the child’s day care after the boy had repeatedly told them of being treated roughly by his father, reports local paper Upsala Nya Tidning.

The boy told staff that his father had hit him on several occasions. At one point the young boy was also allegedly locked up in a darkened room and not allowed out. On another occasion the father tied him to a fence.

As a result, both the six-year-old boy and a younger sibling have been taken into custody by the local authorities. The decision to take the children into mandatory care was taken by the administrative court (förvaltningsrätten).

The father has admitted to treating his young children in an unacceptable way and is not contesting them being taken into care by the authorities.

According to the paper, the family has been under scrutiny of the social services for some time and social workers have testified of abusive behaviour towards the kids by their father on many occasions.

The man has also recently been charged with the assault and battery of his wife, according to the paper.

TT/Rebecca Martin