at 0:37 on February 27, 2008, EST.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MANCHESTER, England - The strongest earthquake to hit Britain in more than two decades was felt across large parts of the country early Wednesday, officials said.

Some homes had minor damage but there were no reports of injuries. The British Geological Survey said it was a 5.3-magnitude quake but the U.S. Geological Survey earlier put the magnitude at 4.7. The quake struck at about 1 a.m. local time and was centred about 200 kilometres north of London.

Julian Bukits of the British Geological Survey said it was the most powerful one in Britain since a 5.4 quake hit North Wales in 1984.

"It was scary," David Somerset said by telephone from Driffield, about 100 kilometres from the epicentre. He was working on the computer at the time.

"It was a strange sensation as the room, ornaments and chest of drawers started wobbling and making a loud rumbling noise," he said.

Many other people in southern, central and northern England reported feeling their homes shaken by the earthquake in a country where such tremors are uncommon.

Lincolnshire police said they had received dozens of phone calls about the quake and some minor damage to homes had been reported.

"This is a moderate earthquake," Rafael Abreu of the U.S. Geological Survey told Sky News from the United States.

He described it as a shallow interplate earthquake and said his U.S.-based group would likely adopt the 5.3-magnitude rating from his British counterparts.

The epicentre was reported to be in Market Rasen in Licolnshire, a small market town known for its racecourse.

"I was in bed at the time and suddenly there was quite a big bang and shaking that woke us up," said Laura Bocock, who lives close to Market Rasen in northeastern England.

"It sounded like someone had hit the bungalow and (I) was quite frightened."

"I couldn't get back to sleep because I was scared it could happen again."

The North West Ambulance service said its crews had also reported feeling the quake but had received "no actual calls from the public," said a spokeswoman.

John Jenkin of Bourne said the jolt knocked objects from the shelves of his home.

"I was woken up. It was hell," he said.

A woman in Notting Hill, a wealthy section of London, reported her radio was bumping up and down on a shelf for several seconds.

A quake of magnitude 5 is capable of causing considerable damage. Britain is hit annually with up to 200 quakes but only 10 per cent are strong enough to be felt.


©The Canadian Press, 2008

doesn't seem al that bad

pansies.

I did feel the earth move but we were getting busy so I put it down to that.

shanti0608 said:

Hope everyones ok

veronikka said:

I read a couple news sources and they said everything is ok and no one was hurt.

shanti0608 said:

Good to know

evenstar said:

My thoughts exactly!!!!! U should have heard all the whingeing and moaning when we had all our floods last year and during this years winter!! They were moaning cos the all the pubs were closed, crying and weeping cos they lost everything and that they didnt have sufficient Insurance 2 cover all the losses(most residents didnt even have insurance per se!!)!!

I thought 2 myself "Stop crying, u wimps and think about all the people who have lived through far more catastrophic disasters than this and have survived!! These floods are a picnic compared 2 what Katrina was like!!!"

What a load of pissy-assed wimps!!!!

Desire2006 said:

i was fucking joking (because i'm californian). i love england, i want to move there, and unless you've had your home severely damaged & lost your things in a flood i don't think you're qualified to speak about what people in that situation should feel.

shanti0608 said:

Desire2006 said:

I think Evenstar was being sarcastic because her boyfriend and a few dear friends live outside of London.
I just watched the news.. I do not see anyone crying or whining because of the earth quakes... just reporting that one occurred.

evenstar said:

couldn't have put it better myself.

jami0mckay said:

did you feel it Jamie?

ZombieKitten said:

actually half our chimney fell down into the garden

jami0mckay said:

crap

jami0mckay said:

That sucks..... sorry.

ZombieKitten said:

hey its nothing really just a few bricks

shanti0608 said:

thanks! its just a few bricks tho nothing too major.

strangest thing is chimney collapsed but bird table didn't fall over

whaaaat? I must have slept through it

LleeLlee said:

its all the lemon water, plus reading about kitesurfing makes people very drowsy

jami0mckay said:

What time did it happen?

shanti0608 said:

just before 1am, I remember looking at the clock after it finished.

shanti0608 said:

or do you mean Dans kitesurfing thread?

jami0mckay said:

Yes, it must have knocked me out. Sorry about your chimney.


I wounder if my parents felt it? I'lll ring them.

LleeLlee said:

whereabouts in the uk are they? I'm in Lincs which seems to have felt it the loudest.

Thanks

I'm sorry about Dans kitesurfing thread.

jami0mckay said:

They're in London, yes I think its epicentere was in Lincoln, no need to apologise about Dan's thread, I haven't read it properly, shopuld I be worried?

.
[Edited 2/27/08 5:06am]

LleeLlee said:

no its a low concept thread

evenstar said:

Exactly.....5.3 ain't nothin'!!! Call me when you get a 6.0 or above .


Actually I am glad that it sounds like no one was hurt and there was only minimal damge.

shanti0608 said:

You go, you two!!!!! Woo hoo!!!