The north of England was tonight struck by a small earthquake, the British Geological Survey (BGS) confirmed.

The tremor measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale is the second to hit the region in less than a month.

The epicentre of the quake is believed to have been near Ripon, North Yorkshire, but the tremor was felt as far afield as Cumbria and West Yorkshire.

Dr Brian Baptie of the BGS said: “We believe the earthquake was in North Yorkshire, just west of Ripon in the Yorkshire Dales region.” It struck at 9.02pm.

Dr Aoife O’Mongain from the BGS said the epicentre of the quake was 10 kilometres west of Ripon with a depth of six kilometres. She added: “It would have only lasted for a couple of seconds. And at that strength it is not likely that it would have caused any damage.

“People living in the vicinity may have felt their windows rattling as if a lorry was going past.”

There were reports that the tremor had been felt in the Skipton area with windows rattling but no reports of any damage.

Meanwhile, Cumbria resident Richard Lambert said he initially thought the quake was a helicopter passing overhead. He said: "I was just sitting down on the sofa and I could hear a loud rumbling coming from outside.

"I thought it was a Chinook helicopter.”