An earthquake rudely woke up people in Essex this morning – with some describing the ‘loud bang’ and others saying it sounded like an Underground train.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) said the 2.6 magnitude quake happened in Bicknacre, Chelmsford, at about 5.05am and at a depth of about 9km (5.5 miles).

Rumbles were reported by people from Runwell and South Woodham Ferrers – which is around four miles away – according to the BGS.

One resident told the BGS it was ‘was like an underground train going under our bungalow’.

Others told the group they were ‘awoken by a loud bang and rumble’ and the earthquake ‘felt like a piece of large furniture had fallen over’.

About four miles south of the epicentre, Darren Draper heard the quake in South Woodham Ferrers.

He told BBC Essex: ‘Just after 05:00 there was a very loud bang – but I didn’t really feel any earth shaking or anything.

‘It was very strange.

‘My son shot out of bed as well and we were just looking at one another, going ‘what was that?’ – I thought we were getting broken into.

‘There were a few other neighbours out in the street, so we all heard it.’

BGS SEISMIC INFORMATION: BICKNACRE, ESSEX 9 FEBRUARY 2023 05:05 UTC 2.6 ML

The following preliminary information is available for this earthquake:

LAT/LON: 51.671° North / 0.583° East
GRID REF: 578.6 kmE / 200.1 kmN
DEPTH: 8.8 km
MAGNITUDE: 2.6 ML
INTENSITY:3 EMS pic.twitter.com/LPzKDVqa4O

David Mountain, who lives in Sandon, about four miles north west of Bicknacre, was also woken by the noise.

He said: ‘It was a pretty big bang, and it was as if someone had broken through our patio doors – it was a major bang.’

He described the experience as ‘very strange, very loud’.

Did you feel or hear the Essex earthquake this morning? If you did please email our reporter Liam Coleman.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

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