Woman chops off 40-year-old lover's penis with shears in Argentina

Brenda Barattini, 26, from Argentina, attacked her 40-year-old lover on Sunday. Photo / Facebook

A 26-year-old Argentine woman has been arrested after cutting off her lover's penis with a pair of gardening shears.

Brenda Barattini, an architect, attacked the 40-year-old on Sunday morning in the town of Cordoba while he was asleep, according to local media.

The man was rushed to hospital after losing a large amount of blood but is now in a stable condition, the Daily Mail reports.

Police arrested Barattini and say she has confessed to her crime, Los Andes reports.

While the exact circumstances are unclear, officers do not believe Barattini was staying at the man's property before carrying out the attack.

Instead they say she entered the home in the early hours before mutilating the man.

It is unclear whether medics were able to locate the man's severed genitals and if it will be possible to reattach them.

Reports do not make it clear how emergency services were alerted to the attack.

It is also unclear what motivated Barattini to carry out such an attack. Investigations are ongoing, police said.