A team from Helston aid charity ShelterBox has arrived in a quake stricken Italian town as journalists and bystanders have been advised to leave following further tremors.

Reporters have been told to get out of Amatrice as the town is crumbling, but a desperate search for survivors continues, as people sleep outdoors, in cars, and in tents.

ShelterBox has said it is drawing on all its strengths in responding to the effects of the quake, which hit several towns south of Perugia in the early hours of Wednesday morning, killing more than 240 people.

In-country affiliates and local Rotarians have helped the charity’s response team to hit the ground running, and a frantic race against the clock continues to find any survivors, but the overall toll is expected to exceed that of the quake in 2009 in Abruzzo when over 300 people died.

ShelterBox operations co-ordinator Phil Duloy is heading the team, with Cornwall-based response volunteer Ed Owen, and Italian national Clio Gressani from ShelterBox’s London office.

At ShelterBox’s Cornwall headquarters, operations co-ordinator Jon Berg said: "We have a team on its way to the affected area to coordinate with the responding agencies and carry out assessments to ascertain the level of need, the options available and most appropriate response from us.

"Our Italian contacts and affiliate have been updating us with information since yesterday morning so that we are able to hit the ground running. Our work could potentially include supporting people close to their homes, depending on the safety of each situation, or in community camps planned by the local authorities.

"But their first task will be getting a better understanding of the situation and the need."

With thousands of aid workers now helping across the region it is also possible that ShelterBox could offer temporary accommodation for humanitarian teams from colleague agencies.

Among ShelterBox’s range of aid are a variety of tents, kits with tools and tarpaulins for making temporary shelters, and helpful items such as solar lights to be used where power is down, offering safety and security to displaced families in hours of darkness.