Pope Francis made a surprise visit to Amatrice, one of the towns hardest hit by an earthquake that killed nearly 300 people.

The pontiff had expressed his desire to visit the quake-stricken zone but the Vatican had not announced a date.

He indicated that he wanted to go alone "to be close to the people".

Arriving on Tuesday morning, accompanied by the bishop of Rieti, he started his tour at a makeshift school, later speaking to firefighters who had worked on the rescue operation.

He was then due to visit people displaced by the earthquake who have been living in tents since the disaster on August 24.

Most of the buildings in Amatrice are either levelled or considered too badly damaged to live in.

He is later expected to go to the so-called "red zone", which covers the centre of Amatrice and is closed off to the public because it is still highly dangerous.

The earthquake flattened several towns and villages in the Lazio and Marche regions northeast of Rome and caused at least 4 billion euros (£3.5 billion), according to government estimates.