Cornwall earthquake: 2.2-magnitude quake shakes houses in West Country

'My beer is still standing so we are all good,' notes one resident

Falmouth, near to quake's epicentre

Homes shuck and bangs were heard as an earthquake rattled Cornwall.

The 2.2-magnitude tremor struck three miles southwest of Falmouth near the town of Helston, the British Geological Survey (BGS) said.

“Just had a small earthquake,” one woman wrote on Twitter. “My beer is still standing so we are all good.”

No structural damage was reported during the earthquake at 4.52pm on Thursday.

Steve Cowe, who lives in the area, told the Cornwall Live website: “It was like a double boom.

“We were sat in the living room watching TV and thought it was something crashed into the house or the side of the house, it was that kind of shake.

“In seconds everyone came out of their houses on the street or were looking out the windows.”

He added: “We thought it was an aircraft crash to begin with. It was too loud for thunder.”

The BGS said the origin of the tremor was 2.8km beneath ground.

In a statement, it added: “A small number of reports have been received from the immediate area by members of the public. One described: ‘Loud bang from beneath (I was sat on sofa). Windows shook’.”

There are about 15 seismic movements of the size felt in Cornwall - or greater - in the UK each year.