Earthquake recorded in Bedfordshire

  • Watch Matthew Hudson's video report

An earthquake has been recorded in Bedfordshire this morning.

Map showing the epicentre of the quake Credit: USGS

Dean Gray captured this video:

Seismologists at the British Geological Survey (BGS) recorded a tremor registering at 3.3 magnitude at around 8:45am in the Leighton Buzzard area.

It was felt by ITV News producer Marcus Chippendale:

Bedfordshire Police said the force was taking a "large" number of calls from the public but no injuries have been reported.

A tweet said:

The BGS said one report suggested the earthquake was like a "large

explosion".

Head of seismology at BGS Dr Brian Baptie told the BBC said the UK only gets around one earthquake each year of such a size, but rarely in the Bedfordshire area.

He said: "Leighton Buzzard is not an area that has been known for earthquakes in the past.

"There have been a few historically nearby. There was a magnitude 3 near Oxford in 1986 and then you have to go back to the 18th century to look at Oxford in 1764 for another event of that size.

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."

Tremors of this scale are fairly frequent - around 30,000 are recorded each year.

The BGS has recorded seven tremors in the last eight days around the British Isles.

Watch Jonathan Wills interview with Dr Brian Baptie, Head of Seismology, at the British Geological Survey.