Mob in Guatemala burns man to death in a school after he allegedly killed two children with a machete

People look at the body of a man who was lynched by a mob inside a public school for allegedly killing two children inside the school in San Juan Tactic, north of Guatemala City, (AP)

Authorities in Guatemala say an angry mob has killed a man inside a school for allegedly killing two children by cutting their throats with a machete.

The mob reportedly took their deadly revenge against the man inside the school in the northern province of Alta Verapaz on Wednesday.

Interior minister Mauricio Lopez Bonilla said a drunken Julio Saquil entered the school and cut the throats of two children with a machete.

A mob then set the 35-year-old man on fire and he burnt to death on the school's patio.

Local security officials claimed that the dead man had a history of violence and using drugs, however, they have not yet established any motive for the killing of the children.

Fox News reported that the mob was made up of local people and teachers, although this has not been confirmed.

A number of separate incidents of 'mob justice' reportedly followed the three deaths on Wednesday, with four men in a nearby neighbourhood being beaten with sticks for suspected thieving.

Lynch mobs are not uncommon in areas of Guatemala where police are scarce.

The country's human rights agency says 234 attempted lynchings took place in 2011 and at least 40 people were killed.