Oakham earthquake recorded at 3.8 in magnitude

An earthquake with a magnitude of 3.8 has been recorded in the East Midlands, the British Geological Survey has confirmed.

The epicentre was near the town of Oakham, in Rutland, at 22:25 GMT on Wednesday.

People reported feeling buildings shake and vibrations lasting as long as 10 seconds.

It comes after an earthquake with a magnitude of 2.9 was recorded in Hampshire on Tuesday.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) said it had received more than 1,400 reports from people who felt the Oakham earthquake, including residents from as far away as Dudley and Huddersfield.

BGS seismologist Paul Denton lives in Oakham himself, and believes there will be another quake near the town.

"There will be another tremor at some point in the future, I just can't tell you when or where or how big it's going to be," he said.

Two earthquakes were recorded near Oakham in April last year.

The first, on 17 April, 2014, measured 3.2 in magnitude, followed by a second tremor the following day, which measured 3.5 in magnitude.

Mr Denton said the BGS was likely to begin monitoring the area more closely.

"What makes it unusual, is the fact we've had three similar-sized earthquakes in more or less the same place," he said.

"I'd expect the earthquakes to be more dispersed across the UK.

"The fact we've had these three quite big ones here, within a few kilometres of each other, is unusual."

Mr Denton said he heard and felt an almost instantaneous "bang and a sharp jolt" but it was unlikely the quake was strong enough to have caused structural damage.

One person in Rutland told the BGS it "sounded like a really large bomb had just gone off" and there was a "build up of rumbling and the house shook really violently".

Another said it was "like a loud explosion" and they looked for cracks in their house.

Other people reported books moving on shelves, dogs growling uneasily and a "significant vibration" lasting for about 10 seconds.

One person in Grantham, Lincolnshire, reported: "I could see rings in my glass of wine! A bit like in Jurassic Park when the T Rex chases the car!"

BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew was among those who tweeted about the tremor, saying: "The earth just moved in the Vale. I mean seriously. Anyone else feel it?"

On Tuesday, an earthquake with a magnitude of 2.9 was recorded in Hampshire.

The British Geological Survey reported a tremor at a depth of 3km (1.9 miles) at Headbourne Worthy, just north east of Winchester.