LISBON (REUTERS) - A Portuguese man stabbed four people to death in a rural area in the north of the country on Friday (March 24) before surrendering to police, who said all the victims were the suspect's neighbours.

The man confessed to killing an elderly couple and a woman in their homes, and then another woman in the street in Tamel, a village on the outskirts of Barcelos, some 380km north of Lisbon.

"The suspect has surrendered and confessed the crimes," said a duty police officer in the regional centre of Barcelos, adding that all the victims died from neck wounds.

"The investigation continues and is looking into the motives, but it appears to be a local problem between neighbours."