I'd been lying in bed watching a programme about the paranormal until about half twelve, when I finally decided to get some sleep. Lights off, blinds down, curtains closed and falling almost out of consciousness when my bed began shaking. After the initial frisson of excitement thinking Kiera Knightley had paid me a visit, I settled on the fact that it must be the wind. I was in a bit of torpor at this time so the fact that wind struggles to pass through solid walls didn't seem quite so illogical. Stirred and now wide awake, I began to reflect on what had happened, suspecting ghostly input. Well that was it, lights on, curtains open and eagle eyed vigilance for about half an hour until I got bored of the inactivity and decided on sleeping again.

Phil Hughes, Lancaster,

i was layin in bed online, my sister was in bed asleep aswell. we share room and we have bunk beds, when ithe quake started i started to shout her name i thought she was having some sort of fit cuz te bed was shakin then i realised it wasn't ere when i relaised my wardropes doors / bed side table started to shake, we were both soo scared !!!

jenna kinnear, pontefract,

I live in Derby and was on my own last night. It was the scariest, most un-nerving experience of my life. My whole bedroom was moving from side to side and I could hear the creaks of wood above and below me. The noise was horrible, like a groaning, rumbling giant. My t.v was on standby and it made a very strange noise - then all it's lights went out. It lasted at least a minute. I prayed out loud for it to stop because I was so frightened. It was like being in a movie. The worst feeling was that for a second, I thought that something very terrible and final was going to happen and I was all on my own.

Lisa, Derby,

To Garth Rex 'The next thing will be a volcano or two...' Are you not aware how important volcanoes were in the formation of our isles??? Whilst there are no active volcanoes, there are remains in Wales for example, and then there's Arthur's Seat...

As for the gods being angry with Gordon, surely they'd aim a bit closer to Downing Street than Market Rasen.

Louise, London,

Was woken up by the slight 'shiver' of my house, 200+ years old and built of stone, solid as a rock and shaken by nothing in my 22 years living in it, so I appreciated that it had to be an earth tremor. Is this (Liphook, Hampshire) the furthest south point at which it was felt?

G.A.S.C. Wilson, Liphook, Hampshire

recent evidence has shown that the previous runaway warmings have driven massive earthquake and volcanic activity ,rising sea levels deform the plates and disturb the tectonic equilibrium,o dear its going to get bad

charles maguire, bantry, cork

Ah!
As my living room is the warmest room, I've taken to sleeping on two long sofas pushed together by night, in order to keep warm.
I was wondering how there was a gap between them this morning.

Andrew, London, UK

...can you all stop going on about this? I'm worried that my wife will read it and find out the real reason the earth moved last night.

J.Wilkes, Gloucester,

Garth Rex do one mate let us have our fun.

Gaz, Manchester,

I live in a village about 20 miles north of Market Rasen and was cleaning my teeth at the time, so I just kept my hand still and let the moving house do the cleaning.

Ken, Winteringham, North Lincs.

G. London, I also blame global warming and think the Government should TAX earthquakes.

John Beddows, Fife, UK

I have to add this! My son was fishing on the Berkeley pier, turned toward the parking lot and saw cars going UP and DOWN, realized that the shock waves had not reached him yet, grabbed a nearby tourist who also was not aware of what was coming, they both grabbed the pier poles and proceeded to have a wild ride, courtesy of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake which also took down part of the freeway. Brickwork comes out the worse in an earthquake, as it does not move, or have any flexibility. We have learned to lean our bookshelves toward the wall, or attach them outright, and fasten cabinets with those child guard latches, if you care about the dishes! Not have really heavy things on high shelves which could crash onto your head. Absolutely not EVER over your bed. Mercy. Put that heavy picture or mirror over THERE!!! The first time you feel an earthquake, you think you are in a bad dream!

Mom, San Francisco, California

Good thing you don't live on the Ring of Fire, the Pacific Rim. I, and a lot of other people, sleep through quakes of this magnitude. We're fortunate that most of our housing is newer and built to earthquake standards.

RW Dresser, Parksville, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

The coverage at home this is getting, must generate amazed bemusement from the citizens of Sans Franscisco and their like!

Robbie Rohan, Great Chart, Kent, UK

I blame global warming. Its also why Easter is early this year.

G, London,

Oh my god, How scary? Ive never expericend one like that! ive had a few minor ones abroad but last nights qauke really shocked me, i was asleep and it woke me my room was shakin and i was shaking too, I thought a bomb went off or somthing had crashed onto the earth very scary!

kirsty, leicester, england

I slept through it all but remember the one in 2002. i thought it was my housemates playing a trick on me at first bashing against the wall and door!

Paul, sheffield,

I felt it in Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway, i thought it was a bus going past but it was 4hrs after the last one.

Andrew McQuarrie, Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland

I was just drifting off to sleep when I heard strange noises - I genuinely thought somone was in the house, burglars, as it appeared to be doors rattling!
It was not burglars sooo...

I live 145 miles from the epicentre as the crow flies

Jack B, Camberley, England

I was actualy already up when the quake hit around 1am, most frightning thing in my life, now im stuck cleaning up my house. It seemed to come up out of the blue, you could hear a distant rumble as the quake approached but then all of a sudden the building would violently shake side to side, terrifying. Still lasted a good 10 seconds of rumbling as the quake subsided.

Ben Rice, nottingham, england

I live just outside Market Rasen and was woken from a deep sleep. At first I thought my bedroom floor was about to collapse and It was going to fall into the lounge downstairs (live in 18th cottage with original floor boards) I then heard one of my daughters screaming and I then thought something had crashed into her room. On looking outside I saw my neighbours lights on and him outside with a torch looking at the old willow tree by his house. His dogs were running around the garden barking.
None of us could settle back to sleep and still in state of shock.

LL, Market Rasen

L, market rasen, lincoln

I live in camden and I was in bed reading then felt my bed shake for a few seconds and thought it was my imagination. I even looked under my bed thinking something was underneath shaking it!

Nadika, Camden, UK

we woke up and the furniture was sliding across the floors, books flying off the shelves, plates hurtling from the sideboards in the kitchen and smashing all over the place, windows smashed, and the cat was rather disturbed!

Andrew, Newcastle,

WHAT'S NEXT?

Earthquakes in Britain? Goodness gracious! How un-British...how uncivilized!

Obviously, the gods are angry with Gordon Brown! They felt that they needed to shake things up a bit. He better shape up quick! The next thing will be a volcano or two... popping up in Trafalgar Square!

Garth Rex, Glendale Heights, USA

You americans seem to forget that earthquakes in the UK are quite rare so it's kinda special for us and scary too, so go post on your own newspaper sites and leave us to enjoy our moments

jen, rugby, warwickshire

My wife woke me up alarmed and said that the house had shaken in a weird way and woken her up. I told her it was a train going past and to go back to sleep. When I showed her the BBC website this morning, her gloating was unbearable. I slept through it, of course.

Alistair, Manchester,

A few weeks ago my cooker hood inexplicably turned itself on at midnight. Last night i thought that 'they' had come back for more as the bed shook, the dresser wobbled and the en suite seemed to implode. I initally feared that my flat was built on an ancient indian burial ground but was relieved to learn that it was merely an earthquake.

Simon , Leeds , UK

Yes, I happened to have the unfortunate experience of being in Italy when a major earthquake stuck there, and 12 people from Dudley dressed in pyjamas walked into the local Polizia. Do you think there's some kind of conspiracy going on?

Ted , Rome, Italy

Regarding the

' in Dudley 12 people walked into the police station in their pyjamas.'

Is it usual to keep a police station in your pyjamas?
or does this only occur in Dudley?

Peter George Watts, Coventry, Warwickshire

Well personally I'm quite excited to have experienced an earthquake! I was lying in bed just falling to sleep and the bed started shaking a bit - in my sleepy state I assumed it was a heavy lorry going by on the road outside (I can often feel the vibrations from those in my room). It didn't really feel like that though, more like someone sitting on my bed and wobbling it about. I did think to myself maybe it's an earthquake, but not seriously! It didn't last very long though - maybe 5 seconds. By the time I decided that it couldn't be a lorry it had stopped again. So I turned over and went to sleep!

Emma Dring, Cambridge, UK

7 seconds of swaying and jiggling here on Tooley Street SE1 London at 12:55am this morning. Not violent or scary but certainly unusual.

WG, London, UK

My husband woke up with a start and said" Whats going on?" We both sat up, while the bed shook and the wardrobe doors rattled, coat hangers making a real din. I knew straight away it was an earthquake. After about ten seconds it stopped and my eleven year old daughter came in saying " Mummy the whole house just shook!" We put on the radio but nobody seemed to be reporting anything so we had this strange conversation about explosions - we felt the Hemel Hempstead fuel explosion, and I told my daughter about an earthquake when I first started working in 1990, then we just settled down and tried to get back to sleep. I did wonder for a while if it was the start of a much larger quake and how we'd all get out of the house! Spent the rest of the night drifting in and out of sleep. Now I know nobody washurt, it was a bit of excitement.

Angela , Buckingham,

didn't feel a thing
Teddington SW London

john, London,

so, a few people were woken during the night, a cat got a broken leg and one guy thought it was a gust of wind; what a catastrophe!!!

rudy, london,

TERMINOLOGY CORRECTED

Please be advised that these reports of an earthquake in Britain are totally erroneous!

Britain...does NOT have earthquakes! OTHER countries have earthquakes. They are prohibited in Britain by the Magna Carta..or by An Act of Parliament...or something or other....maybe by an Indecent Act!

The occurence erroneously reported as an "earthquake" was, instead and indeed,
"A Seismic Disturbance"...or you could just say that the ground shook!

Garth Rex, Glendale Heights, USA

I see that you are reporting that "in Dudley 12 people walked into the police station in their pyjamas."

I wonder if it was the same 12 people in nightclothes that walked into their local police station following the earthquake in Dudley in 2002?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2275158.stm

Mac McColgan, Dudley,

I live just outside Market Rasen and was woken from a deep sleep. At first I thought my bedroom floor was about to collapse and It was going to fall into the lounge downstairs (live in 18th cottage with original floor boards) I then heard one of my daughters screaming and I then thought something had crashed into her room. On looking outside I saw my neighbours lights on and him outside with a torch looking at the old willow tree by his house. His dogs were running around the garden barking.
None of us could settle back to sleep and still in state of shock.

LL, Market Rasen

L, market rasen, lincoln

my nanna thought an aeroplane was coming into her house!
i did not feel nothing but many of my friends did

Elisssssssssss =], LC, ENGLAND

As we got up my wife, karen, was chattering excitedly about the commotion in the early hours. She recounted on how the bed had been shaking and the pictures fell off the walls. A great deal of effort and gesticulation was brought to into play describing the conversation that we both had at 1.00am this morning.

She hunted around the house seeking out the evidence to support her story and I cannot start to describe her jubilation when she discovered the fallen pictures and my hats that had been thrown onto the floor. Thus vindicated we turned on the television to see her version of events being viewed on the world stage.

As I left the house this morning the last words to ring around my eardrums were" Thats the last time I give you holtmilk at Bedtime!"

Andrew Morrison

Market Rasen

Andrew Morrison, Market Rasen, Lincs

I live in SW London, New Malden. I knew from the very beginning it was earthquake as I experienced similar tremors when I was in Tokyo. However the idea of earthquake in London seemed very strange. When I looked through the window when it stopped I could see lots of people doing the same on the estate where I live. Scary stuff!

Joseph, New Malden,

At first I thought it was a very strong gust of wind, but it quickly built up to the point that I knew that it must have been an earthquake (or that I was having some sort of conscious seizure)! The shaking was enough to shift me around in my chair. The whole room swayed, but curiously nothing fell or even shifted. Not even a house- or car-alarm was set off, leaving me wondering whether it had actually happened or not!

The guys in our Earth Sciences dept got some great readings on their seismometer, but there's a gap in the readout, because it's very sensitive (set up for small, distant events), and the shaking (although measured in Staffordshire) was too violent for it!

Jim, Keele, Staffordshire

I was in Wolverhampton (off Birmingham) and felt the shudder for about 5 seconds while in Bed. I didn't know what was going on, I did what any home owner would do... look for a baseball bat and slowly open their bedroom door. I thought my back door might of been kicked in.
Thankfully it was only an earthquake.

James, Wolverhampton, West Midlands

I woke up to the windows rattling, the floor was rolling like the ocean. I didnt realise what it was util I saw the news.

The church says it is insured against acts of god. Is that ethical. Are they not always telling us that we should trust in the will of god. Perhaps god didnt like that particular church and wanted rid of it? They are insuring themselves against what they believe in.
Well I suppose it keeps them off the streets. We can do without gangs of discontented pastors roaming the streets comitting acts of god....

Dave B, kelso, borders

What a very strange feeling it was. We were asleep when I heard what sounded like a very loud cracking noise then the whole bungalow shook the chandeleir in the bedroom was shaking for what seemed forever. It sounded as though something very large had crashed into the place. We expected to find some damage when it became light but nothing untoward ,we were very lucky.

June Sumner, Retford, Notts

I live in South West London and I was woken by my bed swaying, my first thought in my sleepy stupor was that it was a ghost! Then the headboard started lightly banging against the wall and I sat up with a start. My son came rushing out of his room and said 'did you feel that?' His bed also shook and things were moving in his room. He knew it was an earthquake but I pooh poohed the idea until we watched Sky news!

Kim, London,

This must be down to global warming! Put up taxes on petrol and that should sort it out!!

S. Arcastic, L'pool,

"I was woken in the night, with a pain in my neck, where the lamp had falling off and hit me"

sam, Lowestoft,

"My small child fell off his bunk bed on to the hard floor, i ran in and everything was shaking"

lauren, Great Yarmouth ,