A 3.3-magnitude earthquake has been recorded in Bedfordshire, the British Geological Survey (BGS) has said.
Initial data on the BGS website suggested the earthquake was felt in the region of Leighton Buzzard at about 9.45am BST on Tuesday and was magnitude 3.3 at a depth of 10km.
In a tweet, the BGS said it had received reports from members of the public in the heavily populated area.
“Reports include ‘like a convoy of HGVs driving past my front door at great speed’, ‘the house had one dramatic shake’, ‘felt like whole house was shaking’ & ‘it was like a large explosion’,” the organisation tweeted.
Bedfordshire police said the force had received a large number of calls from the public but no injuries had been reported.
A tweet said: “Our control room are currently experiencing a large number of calls due to an earthquake which was felt across the county. We have currently received no reports of any injuries or major structural damage.”
One school, Linslade School, announced it would be closing early to check the building for structural damage. “This is to allow us to check that none of our buildings have been structurally damaged and therefore we are asking you to collect your children in an orderly fashion from 10.45am. Their belongings and bags will remain safely in their classrooms,” parents were told in an email.
“We thank you in advance for your cooperation. The health and safety of your child is paramount to us.”
Bedfordshire fire control said: “We received a number of calls from worried residents of Leighton Buzzard regarding the tremors felt due to the earthquake. We did attend one site to reassure occupants that their structure was safe.
“None of our callers had ever experienced an earthquake before so were concerned that there may have been an explosion etc nearby. Due to the radius of callers, we identified that this was a localised tremor and confirmed this before giving reassurance to worried callers.”
Thames Valley police tweeted: “Felt the earth move this morning? We can confirm that an earthquake occurred just over the border in Bedfordshire. While not a major incident it has been confirmed that extra resources have been drafted in to clean up the mess created by the duty inspector’s coffee.”
Hannah Booth, a writer at the Guardian who was in the area, said: “There was a loud bang, and the whole house shook strongly for about three seconds. I thought perhaps a wardrobe had collapsed upstairs, or something large had landed on the roof.”
Usha Chapman, from Luton, said: “I was on a video call with my mum when I felt a sideways push. The door rattled and the TV fixed to the wall also rattled. It lasted for five seconds.”
One person in Aylesbury wrote online that their house shook “as if it was hit by a vehicle”. Another, from Dacorum in Hertfordshire, said: “Short quick quiet boom like an explosion.”
