A MAN who strangled his wife has given himself up to the police, according to officers in Madrid.

National Police say they received a call from a man from Fuenlabrada, just outside the city, at around 16.30hrs on Tuesday to say there was a dead body in his house.

The house turned out to belong to another woman, who had let a room to the couple.

When questioned, she said she was unaware of anything untoward having occurred in the building.

The caller had left the scene by the time the police arrived.

They later caught up with him near the scene of the crime, where he confessed that he had strangled his wife.

The accused, F.N.J., 47, explained that he had become embroiled in a heated discussion with his wife, 54, late on Monday night, which led to his strangling her with a piece of rope.

Police say they have no record of the man having been reported for previous incidences of domestic violence.

His wife is the third woman to die at her partner's or ex-partner's hands already this year in Spain.