A priest pulled from the rubble left by a devastating earthquake in Italy has hailed his survival as a "great miracle".

Fr Krzysztof Kozlowski, a Polish priest who had served in the town of Accumoli for two years, was trapped in the wreckage of his home when the earthquake struck on Wednesday.

He told the Polish news station TVN of the terror of waiting as several aftershocks continued to hit the area.

"Even as I was waiting for help, for someone to bring me out of the apartment, I could feel the tremors. I was afraid they could destroy whatever was left of my house," he said.

"This is a great miracle for me. I was miraculously saved, rescued by a rescue team. I was born anew."

At least 268 people have died in what is feared to be the worst quake ever to hit the region. The normally sparsely-populated mountain towns were packed with tourists for summer breaks. A local office in Amatrice has confirmed at least three British nationals have died. 

Another tremor struck early on Friday as a wave of aftershocks continued to terrorise survivors and rescuers. 

Faith-based volunteers have joined the rescue efforts. One local Catholic bishop, Giovanni D'Ercole from Ascoli Piceno, described the "nightmare" situation.

"When dawn arrived we saw total destruction," he told local media. "So many people were screaming out from the buildings, 'Help us, help us.' It will be very difficult to get this town going again. Everything is destroyed."

One local Catholic volunteer told Vatican Radio: "Now we have 64 volunteers managing the local sports hall, where we hosted 230 during the night.

"In the sports hall we are also managing all the spontaneous donations, foodstuffs and basic necessities. On the rescue side we have several search and rescue dogs in action right now."

Italy declared a state of emergency in the worst hit regions on Friday. The Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has pledged €50 million (£42 million) to rebuild the area.

The pledge comes amid criticism over building standards in the area.

Catholic bishops in Italy have already donated €1 million towards helping the victims and have called for a national collection to take place in churches on September 18.