'Rumbling' sound heard as earthquake hits Derbyshire village

The epicentre of the earthquake was on land close to the village of Weston Underwood

By Matthew Bunn

BBC News, East Midlands

An earthquake in Derbyshire was felt by people living more than 25 miles (40km) away.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) confirmed a magnitude 2.5 earthquake hit near Belper during the early hours of Friday.

The organisation said it had a depth of 7km at 01:42 BST.

A BGS spokesperson said the event was felt in Matlock, Derbyshire, and Belton in Leicestershire, 26 miles (41km) away.

According to data from the BGS, the epicentre of the earthquake was to the west of Belper, near the village of Weston Underwood.

A BGS spokesperson added: "We received a few reports, via online macroseismic questionnaires, of the earthquake being felt in Matlock and Derby (Derbyshire) and in Belton (Leicestershire).

"The reports described "felt a weak trembling" and "heard a moderate rumbling sound".

Image source, BBC /Google

A number of earthquakes have hit the area in the past few months.

They continued: "This is the largest event detected in the area, within 50 km, since a similar magnitude 2.5 ML earthquake occurred near Buxton, Derbyshire, on 2 January, which was felt in Buxton, Dove Holes and King Sterndale.

"More recently, at 15:19 UTC on 7 March, an earthquake with a magnitude of 1.8 ML, occurred approximately 5km (3 miles) west of Matlock, the county town of Derbyshire.

"It was reported felt by several residents in Winster, Derbyshire, a small village around 1-2km from the epicentre.

"Reports described 'a moderate rumbling', 'a loud roaring sound' and 'all the doors and windows rattled'.

"Historically, larger earthquakes have been known to occur in the area, the largest being the magnitude 5.3 ML Derby earthquake which occurred on 11 February 1957."

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