Heartbreaking images of 4-year-old girl beaten by her father, chained to the toilet, and made to wash his clothes

Child abuse has become so commonplace that it's in the news at least once every week. Yet, it doesn't make it any less shocking.

These heart-breaking images show a four-year-old girl who has been so badly beaten by her alcoholic father that she can barely open her eyes. The child was also chained up in a toilet and forced to do laundry.

The little girl was found in near darkness with both hands inside a plastic wash basin, scrubbing her father’s clothes. There also appear to be burn marks left by cigarettes on her back.

The shocking pictures were taken by a visiting relative and show her face badly bruised and swollen.

The unnamed relative said: "[Her father] regularly chains her up in the toilet before leaving the house at 6 or 7am, only returning at 10 or 11pm to feed her."

Within an hour of receiving a report of abuse, the local authorities went to the house in Qingzhen in Guiyang, capital of China’s south-western Guizhou province. The father, who is believed to work as a digger driver, has been arrested and the girl is currently receiving treatment in hospital.