Former US President Jimmy Carter has undergone surgery for a broken hip after falling at his home in Georgia, his office says.

The 94-year-old, the oldest living former US president, was on his way to go turkey hunting when he fell.

Mr Carter was recovering comfortably at a medical centre in Americus, near his home in Plains, with his wife, Rosalynn, a statement said.

His surgeon was quoted as saying that the operation was successful.

A Democrat from Georgia, Mr Carter was a relative unknown in the US political world when he was elected president in 1976. He served from 1977 to 1981.

“President Carter said his main concern is that turkey season ends this week, and he has not reached his limit. He hopes the State of Georgia will allow him to rollover the unused limit to next year,” the Carter Center said.

• Jimmy Carter: Born again statesman

Since leaving the White House, Mr Carter has remained active, carrying out humanitarian work with his Carter Center in recent years.

In 2015, Mr Carter – who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 – disclosed that cancer that had been found on his liver had also been discovered on his brain.

At the time, he said: “I’ve had a wonderful life… I’ve got thousands of friends and I’ve had an exciting and adventurous and gratifying existence.”

After four months of treatment, he announced that he was cancer-free.