The Titanic was on its maiden voyage when it sank

More than 200 artefacts taken from the sunken wreck of the passenger liner Titanic are to be shown at a London exhibition.

The exhibition at the Science Museum in South Kensington will feature the ship's bell and a section of the ship's hull.

Passengers' jewellery, clothes, china and banknotes will also form part of the display.

The sinking of the Titanic in April 1912 claimed the lives of more than 1,500 people when it struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.

Visitors will be given a history of the White Star liner from its conception and launch in Belfast to life on board in the days before the disaster.

Diving expeditions

Museum director Jon Tucker said: "The exhibition provides an incredible window on life aboard what was then the greatest liner ever built.

"It also reveals the cutting edge science and technology used to recover and preserve hundreds of artefacts, allowing visitors to appreciate the challenges of bringing these items two-and-a-half miles to the surface."

The RMS Titanic company has recovered more than 6,000 artefacts from the wreck site in six expeditions from 1987 to 2000.

The exhibition opens to the public on Friday.