A 65-year-old British woman was found beaten to death at her home in southwestern France.

A friend found the woman lying near her vehicle with five deep wounds caused by a blunt object in the village of Tremolat in the Dordogne.

She was found on Tuesday evening state prosecutor Sylvie Martins Guedes said in a statement. Authorities have now opened a murder investigation, she added.

The statement reads: "Her wounds indicated a particularly violent attack and their locations showed an intention to kill. Investigations are underway to identify and detain the perpetrator of this crime."

The woman had lived in the Dordogne department of France for several years and was a mother of four, a neighbour revealed.

She suffered multiple wounds to her chest, groin, arm, and leg, the Bergerac prosecutor's office has said. 

One neighbour told French news outlet Sud Ouest that everything was calm when they closed their blinds at 9pm but by 11pm, there were flashing lights from emergency services. 

They revealed: "The police then rang my doorbell around midnight to see if I had noticed anything suspicious, but I didn't see or hear anything."

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