Was there an earthquake last night? What time 3.3 magnitude quake hit Staffordshire and what happened in Stoke

People living in Staffordshire reported “rumbling” and rattling windows and doors as the area was hit by a 3.3 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) confirmed the tremor, which struck at 8.21pm.

It is the largest of 21 earthquakes to hit the UK in the last two months, comfortably beating two 1.8 magnitude tremors felt on the Isle of Mull in May.

However, it falls some way short of the UK’s largest ever earthquake, which the BGS records as a 6.1 magnitude quake in the North Sea, about 75 miles north-east of Great Yarmouth, on 7 June 1931.

Where did the earthquake hit?

The tremor had an epicentre 7.3km (4.5 miles) below the village of Tean, 10 miles south-east of Stoke-on-Trent.

A spokesperson for the BGS said they had received reports from around Staffordshire, mainly from within 20km (12.5 miles) of the epicentre.

The tremor was reportedly felt by people in Derbyshire and as far north as Sheffield.

Dr Ian Stimpson, a senior lecturer in geophysics at Keele University, told BBC News the area had not historically been hit by earthquakes.

“With this location and depth it is likely to be a natural earthquake rather than anything to do with former mines,” he said.

The BGS says it detects and locates between 200 and 300 earthquakes in the UK each year.

Between 20 to 30 are felt by people, with the others only recorded by sensitive instruments.

What have residents said?

Mark Begg, 30, said he was at home in Uttoxeter when he felt “a very large shake”.

He said he checked “around the house to see if I could see anything” and “after noticing there were no signs of damage I concluded it was most likely a mini earthquake”.

Tom, 38, in Cheadle, Staffordshire, said: “I was sitting watching an episode of Only Connect with my wife on YouTube and as we opened another bottle of wine the whole house shook.

“I thought either one of the children had fallen out of bed or something else had happened.”

Carol Heather, from Hilderstone, told BBC News she felt an impact and noise so loud she thought it was a bomb.

“My hair stood on end, I was jolted out of my seat. I was just watching a film and it was really frightening, terrifying. It was such a bang,” she said.