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Central England was last night hit by an earthquake, with residents in Staffordshire reporting their homes shaking and an "almighty noise".
Reports suggest it struck just after 9.15pm on Wednesday evening in and around Stoke, where heavy tremors were felt amid unconfirmed reports at the time that a quake had hit the region.
Earthquake monitoring website All Quakes stated: "We are receiving unverified early reports of ground shaking possibly caused by seismic activity in or near Stoke-on-Trent, England, United Kingdom, on 28 Jun 2023 (GMT) at approximately 21:19 BST. There are no details yet on the magnitude or depth of this possible quake. If confirmed, we can expect more accurate data to emerge in the next few minutes."
Some unconfirmed readings suggested it measured a magnitude of 3.4. If verified it would be officially termed a "minor earthquake" — and quoted as "often felt by people but rarely causing any damage. You can see objects shaking."
People flooded social media with their reports and questions. A Twitter user in Blythe Bridge, said: "I was relaxing in the bath when there was an almighty noise and the house seemed to shake — I honestly thought a lorry had hit the house. My kids came running as did the dog and I jumped out the bath. Thankfully there doesn't seem to be any damage."
A resident in Biddulph reported: "I was working at my desk and it started shaking. I thought it was the neighbours next door at first."
Laura Buckley said: "Stafford felt it too. I thought someone hit the house." Sarah Lilliburlero Barker said: "Something shook my bed like the bloody Exorcist." Karen Andy Smallwood added: "Felt it in Meir Hay. Thought I imagined it."
One person told StokeonTrentLive: "I just experienced a tremor. My settee started juddering then stopped. I'm in Blythe Bridge. Others here felt it too."
