Kent hit by minor quake waking up residents and shaking buildings

An earthquake of 4.2 magnitude hit Kent waking up residents and shaking houses for nearly 10 seconds.

The tremor jolted the region originating near Sandwich in the early hours of Friday (22 May).

No injuries have been reported so far but Kent police have said they have received several emergency calls.

"We are aware of reports of tremors being felt by residents in East Kent & are monitoring the situation. No injuries have been reported," the police tweeted.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) said the quake struck at a depth of 15km beneath the surface at 02.52 BST.

The Paris-based European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, which monitors quakes across Europe, and the US Geological Survey have also recorded the quake.

The BGS wrote on Twitter: "Today's 4.2 magnitude Ramsgate earthquake is approx 260,000 times smaller than the 7.8 #NepalQuake event"

Residents in Canterbury, Margate, Whitstable and parts of Essex all reported feeling the quake.

"So I'm not going mental, my house shook due to an earthquake in Kent of all places. Thank god for 24 hrs news & social media to find out," Iain Buchanan from Ramsgate told Sky News.

"Lying in bed when the house suddenly shook."

"Thought something had collapsed outside, so got up to check. I've looked outside and all appears to be fine in the street. No damage that I can see. Will obviously see more later when it's lighter. Weird experience anyway."

Several others expressed alarm over social media.