Police in Nova Scotia are on the hunt for two men accused of forcibly confining and sexually assaulting a teenage boy.

An Upper Chelsea resident called police at 7:15 p.m. Monday to report that there was a young man in need of assistance.

RCMP responded and found that the 16-year-old boy had been forcibly confined in a house on Faulkner Rd. He was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Local media reported the boy showed up at an older woman's house Monday night wearing chains and begging for help.

The woman, a widow, didn't let the boy inside but said she'd call police.

"And he said, 'Don't call the cops. They'll hurt me,'" referring to his captors, a neighbour who asked not to be named told the Chronicle Herald.

Investigators have charged David James Leblanc, 47, and Wayne Alan Cunningham, 31, with forcible confinement and sexual assault.

Police believe the men could be in Lunenburg County or Halifax County, and anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to contact police immediately and not to approach the men directly.

The home cops are investigating had been listed for sale but was recently rented to two men, neighbours said. It's located about 125 km west of Halifax.