The Belgian paedophile and child murderer Marc Dutroux has been allowed to visit his home in Marcinelle before it is demolished.

The Charleroi council has dispossessed the convicted murderer and paedophile. Under Belgian law he is entitled to visit the house before it is knocked down.

Dutroux, who has escaped police custody before, was accompanied by 22 police officers during the visit which lasted a couple of minutes. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest.

Dutroux was arrested in 1996 after two girls were found imprisoned in his cellar. The two were kept captive and sexually abused over a long period of time. Before them two other girls had died in the cellar of starvation. Their bodies were found buried in the garden. A monument will mark the spot where the house stood.