A British couple have been found dead at their countryside home in southwest France, sparking a murder investigation.

       The bodies of the unnamed couple were discovered after a concerned friend, also a British national, visited the isolated property in Boudrac on Sunday, having not heard from them for three days.

       The friend discovered the 65-year-old woman in the living room with a rope around her neck and signs of beatings and strangulation on her body, according to France Bleu.

       She is thought to have been dead for at least 72 hours.

       Her husband, 64, was found hanging in a nearby outhouse. The building had reportedly been locked from the inside and he had left a note, the website reported.

       The couple are said to have lived in France for 10 years, previously in the Hautes-Pyrénées area.

       They moved to Boudrac, a tiny village near the foothills of the Pyrenees with a population of about 139, 18 months ago.

       The woman, said to have been originally from Barnsley, and her husband, thought to be from Tunbridge Wells, are said to have aspired to turn their properties in Boudrac into a bed and breakfast.

       However witnesses reportedly claimed the couple had experienced some financial difficulties.

       Autopsies are expected to take place on Tuesday to determine their exact causes of death.

       A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We are providing support to the families of a British man and woman who died in Haute Garonne, France.

       “We are in contact with the local authorities.”