A WOMAN feared to have been beaten to death was found partially buried in the sand on a popular Spanish holiday beach by a horrified couple.

The pair stumbled across the grim discovery while walking their dog along Sancti Petri beach, near Cadiz.

Believed to be around 50, the woman had suffered several blows to the head, with her body already in an advanced state of decomposition.

Her remains were discovered at around 11am on Sunday, with investigators estimating she had been lying undiscovered for between six and ten days.

Detectives suspect the woman was initially buried beneath the sand before her remains gradually became exposed over time.

The chilling discovery was made near the entrance to a designated dog beach in an area known as Lavaculos, close to the Sancti Petri breakwater.

Around 500 runners were taking part in a seven-mile race nearby when the body was found.

, paramedics and Civil Guard officers rushed to the scene before launching a homicide investigation.

Despite a post-mortem examination, the victim has yet to be identified, with forensic experts only confirming she was a woman following the autopsy.

One unconfirmed local report suggested detectives were investigating whether she had been killed by her current or former partner.

A Civil Guard spokesman in Cadiz said: “This is being investigated as a homicide.

“The woman has not yet been identified so further tests are now taking place following the autopsy.

“We believe the body had laid undiscovered for several days before it was found.”

The horror comes after a former Civil Guard officer was accused of dismembering his wife , boiling parts of her body and dumping her remains along a beach in Gran Canaria.

Investigators discovered plastic bags containing body parts belonging to the 59-year-old woman, including cooked skin from her head.

The gruesome remains were scattered along the seafront at Playa del Ingles, a bustling holiday resort popular with British tourists.

Some were found near the Dunamar Hotel, a shopping centre and a supermarket.

Prosecutors claim the woman’s husband, who was 70 at the time, killed her inside their apartment at the Aida complex during Spain’s Covid lockdown in 2020.

He is accused of using a saw, knife and hammer in the horrific killing before spending more than two days dismembering her body.

Forensic experts confirmed some of the remains had been cooked but were unable to establish how the woman died because of the extensive damage to her body.

The former officer faces trial for homicide and desecration of a corpse, with prosecutors demanding a 17-year prison sentence and €250,000 in compensation for the couple’s two children.