THE earth literally moved today for York residents when an earthquake measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale hit large parts of England and Wales.

The British Geological Survey said the epicentre of the earthquake - the largest to hit Britain for ten years - was "right under Birmingham". But people as far apart as south and west Wales, Northamptonshire, North Yorkshire and Oxfordshire felt the tremors which shook homes, broke windows and set off alarms at about 12.54am.

West Midlands Police said the force received 5,000 calls to its switchboard within an hour of the tremor and 600 calls to the 999 service.

North Yorkshire Police received more than 60 calls from concerned people in York, Harrogate and Selby, but there were no reports of any injuries.

Hugh MacDougall, of Fourth Avenue, York, said he thought his home was subsiding when the earthquake struck.

"I was awake in bed when suddenly there was a dull rumble which made the building tremble," he said. "It was like a juggernaut passing the flats, but three times the intensity. The ceiling started to creak.

Debbie Haythorne, of Oxton Lane, Tadcaster, said she was woken by her daughter complaining that her bunk bed and TV were shaking.

"I told her not to worry about it because I know she gets nightmares," she said.

"I couldn't believe it when I saw the news this morning and found out it was an earthquake."

Mike Harrison, of Woodthorpe, York, said: "I became aware of a strange sort of rattling sound in the ceiling above my head, followed by a weird vibration through the high back of my computer chair.

"I've never experienced an earthquake until now - at least it wasn't a ghost."

Bill Bennett, of Holgate, York, said: "It woke me up straight away - I thought it was a car crash or a burglar."

A controller on Humberside Fire Service's switchboard said: "We didn't have any calls about it, but we did feel it in here. The blinds rattled for a few seconds before the room started shaking."

Glenn Ford, of the British Geological Survey (BGS), said it was an "extremely large" earthquake in UK terms, which lasted for at least ten seconds.

Julian Bukits, an assistant seismologist with the BGS, said that an earthquake of magnitude four is equivalent to 1,000 tonnes of TNT which is equivalent to the power of a small nuclear weapon.

Experts believe the largest earthquake to be experienced in the UK occurred in 1931 and measured 6.1 on the Richter scale.

There are about 200 minor tremors in the UK every year but only ten per cent are ever felt by the general public.

Updated: 15:55 Monday, September 23, 2002