Shropshire and mid-Wales feel tremors of 4.4 magnitude earthquake

Thousands of people across the region felt their homes and offices shake on Saturday afternoon, some fearing lorries were coming into their house.

Cabinets and sofas shock and social media went into a frenzy as people reported what they had felt.

The British Geological Survey said that the earthquake measured 4.4 on the Richter scale at a depth of 7.4km, with the epicentre 20km away from Swansea. It said events of such magnitude only ever happen every two to three years in the UK.

The quake was recorded just before 2.30pm with the waves reaching as far as Liverpool and Cornwall.

Dyfed-Powys Police issued a statement saying they are it had had an extremely high call volume of people reporters tremors.

In Shropshire Tanya Hindley-Tait, who is owner of Vogue Hair and Beauty in The Parade shopping centre in Shrewsbury, said: "We were just working and felt the tremor. I felt vibrations from underneath me, some movement and my client felt it too.

I was a bit worried at first. I thought the building was going to collapse, we are quite high up here. "

In Abbey Foregate Post Office Caroline Jones said the building had had a definite wobble.

"Screens shook and the mirror rattled but only for a few seconds."

Disconcerting

Holly Hayward from Hordley near Ellesmere said: "It was identical to when we get heavy lorries going past but longer lasting, up to 10 seconds with a lull in the middle. As with lorries, the cabinets in living room shook. The cat def inetly felt it too."

Also in the Ellesmere area David Humphries said: "The windows shook in their frames - like a lorry going past but lasted longer and I knew it was a little earthquake - I remember a similar one in early 80's.

In bed in Telford preparing for a night shift, Jamie Ricketts said the bed just shook while Vanessa Thomas in Guilsfield said she thought her washing machine had broken down.

Jeanette Salisbury-Roberts, ill in bed near Weston Rhyn, said: "It was more of a wave than a shudder, very disconcerting."

A Madeley resident said: "I was on the phone and the lights went out, came back on, went back off, and then came back on again. I thought something had shorted in the house."

In Dorrington Carol Gwilliam said her settee moved backwards and forwards and the picture on the wall moved while in Hanwood Nick Ferriday said it felt like a super heavy train going through.

"The wine rack was shuddering," he said.