Earthquake with a magnitude of 3.3 felt in parts of southern England

The quake had a magnitude of 3.3. (Photo: Shutterstock)The quake had a magnitude of 3.3. (Photo: Shutterstock)
The quake had a magnitude of 3.3. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Parts of southern England have experienced a 3.3 magnitude earthquake, the British Geological Survey has reported.

The earthquake was located in Bedfordshire in the town of Leighton Buzzard.

It occured at around 8:45am and had a total depth of 10km.

"We are getting reports of an earthquake in the Bedfordshire area. We are currently investigating this event and will post again shortly with an update," it said in a statement on Twitter.

Bedfordshire police said they were receiving "large" numbers of calls from the public, but fortunately, no injuries have been reported.

A tweet said: "Our control room are currently experiencing a large number of calls due to an earthquake which was felt across the county. We have currently received no reports of any injuries or major structural damage."

While the UK is not usually associated with earthquakes, and earthquakes are rare relative to other countries, it is estimated that around 20 to 30 earthquakes are felt in the country each year.

The largest known earthquake to occur in Britain happened in 1931, with a magnitude of 6.1 - though it took place offshore.

In spite of taking place 60 miles offshore, the quake was powerful enough to cause minor damage to buildings on the east coast of England.