A detective tonight described the murder of a 79-year-old widow who was found stabbed to death at her home as ''brutal and horrific''.

The body of the pensioner - named by neighbours as Joan Albert - was found at her house in a cul-de-sac at Capel St Mary, Suffolk, early on Sunday.

Detective Superintendent Roy Lambert, who is heading the investigation, said Mrs Albert had been repeatedly stabbed.

Her body was found in her hallway near the stairs. She was still wearing her night-clothes.

''This was a brutal attack on a frail and defenceless woman,'' said Mr Lambert.

''It is an horrific attack. The violence used can only be described as terrible in my view.''

Police said that there were signs that the house had been broken into via a rear kitchen window.

Mr Lambert said one of the theories detectives were working on was that Mrs Albert, who was hard of hearing and owned a spaniel called Rusty, had been murdered after disturbing a burglar.

''It's too early to say what might have happened,'' added Mr Lambert.

''That's one of the possibilities we are considering. There were signs of a forced entry into the house and she may have been in bed and been disturbed.

''What we need is information from anyone who saw anyone behaving suspiciously, might have seen a car behaving suspiciously, might have heard the dog barking or might have heard any other noises.''

Police said they were not sure what weapon had been used to stab Mrs Albert. Mr Lambert said forensic scientists were examining a number of items found in the house which could be the murder weapon.

Officers were also carrying out searches in the area in case the killer had discarded the weapon.

Neighbours said Mrs Albert, who is not believed to have had any children, had lived alone since her husband Cyril died about a decade ago.

Neighbour Ken Fisher, 55, who has lived in same street for 25 years, said Mrs Albert was ''elegant and wealthy.''

He also said that she had been plagued by local youths knocking on her door or pushing mail through her letterbox in recent months.

Mr Fisher said she had complained to the police about the problem and installed a security light and camera above her front door in an attempt to deter her tormentors.

But she had not wanted to press charges against anyone because she feared that might bring her more trouble.

Police are now checking the camera for any possible evidence.

''She was not short of money,'' said Mr Fisher, an engineering manager. ''I think it was generally perceived by the local youths that she was a lady of means because she liked to wear her jewellery and she was well-known for her appearance. She was always very smartly dressed, elegant and very nice.''

He said Mrs Albert's late husband had run a dry cleaning business locally before retiring. She was also believed to have worked as a hairdresser. The couple met on a Caribbean cruise about 30 years ago.

Mr Fisher added: ''She was a widow and had been living here for a number of years.

''She and her husband ran a dry cleaning business some years ago and she had been living on her own since she died.

''She had been having trouble with local youths who she felt were targeting her by making a nuisance of themselves because they knew she lived on her own and was vulnerable.

''Our village hall is just at the end of the cul-de-sac and you tend to get people walking past sometimes after discos and so on.''

He added: ''Everybody knew about the problems she was having. I spoke to her some weeks ago about it after meeting her in our local shopping centre.

''She was saying then that the police knew who they were but that she did not want to press charges because she was frightened.

''She had reported this problem to the police and they knew about it.''