Italy earthquake: Tributes flood in for three Britons who lost their lives

At least 290 people, mostly Italians, have been killed by the earthquake and its aftermath

Marcos Burnett was described as 'utterly charming, personable and engaging company' (AFP)

Tributes have flooded in for three Britons - a teenager and a married couple - killed in an earthquake that razed several towns in central Italy to the ground.

Fourteen-year-old Marcos Burnett, and his parent's friends Maria and William Henniker-Gotley, were all killed when the 6.2-magnitude quake hit early on Wednesday morning.

Locals have spoken of the attempt to rescue members of the British families, who were on holiday together in a stone house two miles away from Amatrice.

At least 290 people, mostly Italians, were killed by the quake. The death toll includes a number of children.

Almost 400 have been treated for injuries and a further 2,000 have been made homeless.

Marcos’s parents, Simon and Anna Louise Burnett, were injured but survived, along with their daughter. The Henniker-Gotleys have a teenage son and daughter, both of whom survived the quake.

Marcos attended Wetherby School in Marylebone, London, where he was captain of his year’s basketball team. Headteacher Nick Barker told The Times he would be missed by everyone who knew him. Marcos was described as "utterly charming, personable and engaging company".

Ms Henniker-Gotley, 51, who worked at the The Prince's Foundation for Children & the Arts in Bethnal Green in east London, was described as "totally dedicated, meticulous and professional" by Jeremy Newton, the chief executive of the charity.

Mr Newton told Press Association: "The whole team is shocked and saddened by the news of her death and that of her husband Will, who was also a staunch supporter of our work."

Neighbour Bruno Formicola has described how he approached the rubble of the stone house where the two families were staying, guided in the dark only by the light of his mobile phone. He then heard the screams of Marcos’s parents, asking for help and trying to make contact with their children.

"We heard cries for help in English from underneath,” Mr Formicola told The Telegraph.

“We managed to pull out the parents of Marcos. I took the mother out. Her nose and face was injured while the father had clearly broken his leg.

"When we pulled them out they were asking for their son, Marcos, but said we didn't know, he was buried deep underneath. We didn't have the tools to reach him.”

The Foreign Office confirmed the deaths of the three British citizens.

"[The victims' families] have paid tribute to the tireless work of the Italian rescue workers and hospital staff and expressed their gratitude for the love and support they have received from the Italian people," it said in a statement.

"Their thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the earthquake.”

A state of emergency has been declared in the areas affected by the quake, as aftershocks have continued to shake the region.