A 3.0-magnitude earthquake which allegedly hit the English Channel near the Sussex coast this morning has been confirmed to be a false alarm.
At 9am the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported a tremor, and said the earthquake occurred at a depth of 7km and took place in the channel 35km south of Camber and less than 50km away from Eastbourne.
However, the British Geological Survey disputed the report, and the EMSC later deleted the reference to a tremor in the English Channel.
A British Geological Survey spokeswoman told The Evening Standard: “This was an automated response from the EMSC which has since been taken down. The BGS data confirms that there was no earthquake. The EMSC push out their data before it has been reviewed.”
Glenn Ford, a seismic analyst at the BGS added that the software most probably confused two locations, leading to the "spurious event".
Mr Ford added: “There is a very good chance that it is data from another event they have listed six seconds later in northern Algeria.”
The earthquake reportedly struck four miles under the Earth's surface, with locals even taking to social media to discuss their reactions. One said on Facebook that she heard "a rumble" at the time.
Last year, Sussex was affected by an earthquake when a tremor measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale hit Gatwick on May 4.
