A “rumbling” earthquake could be felt more than 25 miles away from where it struck the Peak District, it has been reported.
The earthquake struck Belper in the early hours of Friday and residents said that it was powerful enough to make their furniture shake.
One resident told Derbyshire Live: "I thought it was another low-flying plane like the one that came over yesterday afternoon, it was quite a rumble whatever it was."
The British Geological Survey (BGS) recorded the Derbyshire earthquake at a 2.5 magnitude.
A statement said it was felt in Matlock and in Derby, as well as Belton, in Leicestershire.
“The reports described feeling a weak trembling and hearing a moderate rumbling sound," the BGS added.
Fractions of a number can hold a huge sway in the severity of an earthquake, with the 2.7 magnitude Cornwall earthquake feeling like a “juggernaut” last November.
About three earthquakes strike Britain at a 3 magnitude rate every year but this is around one billion times smaller than the 9 magnitude events that can devastate Japan.
Earthquakes can hit the UK on a regular basis but only around 10 per cent are felt.
Glenn Ford, a seismologist at BGS, told the Standard: “What's unusual about them is we only feel about 10 per cent.
“We don't really perceive the UK as a country associated with earthquakes so, when they occur, it can be quite disturbing.”
The most damaging UK earthquake was in the Colchester area in 1884. Some 1,200 buildings needed repairs, chimneys collapsed, and walls were cracked.
The most recent serious earthquake, of 5.2 magnitude, struck Market Rasen in Lincolnshire in 2008 and was felt as far away as Newcastle and London.
