A British woman has been found stabbed to death in her home in central Italy, as police search for her missing husband.

Officers discovered Michele Faiers, 66, lying on the floor of her bedroom in a pool of blood on Wednesday. She had several stab wounds to her back.

Colonel Alceo Greco, of Italy’s carabinieri police force, said Ms Faiers’s husband was the prime suspect.

She had been living in the house in Casoli, a small town in Abruzzo, with Michael Whitbread, 74, for the past four years, he added.

Col Greco said that the hunt for Mr Whitbread started as soon as Ms Faiers’s body was discovered.

The couple’s car, a Jeep Compass, was also missing.

Ms Faiers is believed to have died at least three days ago, police said, citing initial medical exams of her body.

“This means that her husband has all these days of advantage on us,” Col Greco said. “We fear he could already be abroad.”

Police are searching for Mr Whitbread across the whole country, he added.

An English friend of Ms Faiers, living in nearby Palombaro, was the first to discover her body.

She initially became concerned over Ms Faiers’s whereabouts after several calls went unanswered, and decided to visit her in Casoli on Wednesday.

After knocking on her friend’s door at around 10:30 am local time and receiving no response, the woman let herself into the property using a set of keys that had been left in the lock.

Upon discovering Ms Faiers’s body, she ran outside the house screaming in English: “Help me, help me, call the police,” national broadcaster TV RAI reported.

Col Greco said the couple were very reserved people, who had not made many friends in the area and appeared to live a quiet and largely solitary life.