AN earthquake which shook northern England was felt in Huddersfield.

The tremor, which measured 3.6 on the Richter scale, struck near Ripon, North Yorkshire, at 9.02pm on Monday night and was felt as far afield as West Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear, and Cumbria.

Residents living near the epicentre described hearing crockery rattling and doors shaking on their hinges for several seconds.

The rumble followed a quake of magnitude 3.5 which struck in Coniston in the Lake District on December 21.

Monday’s quake was felt in Huddersfield.

Dawn Byram, of Marsden, said: “I was sitting watching TV when the room shook. I was next to a radiator and it was shaking.

“My son Lee, 28, was upstairs and ran down to say the pictures on his wall had been shaking”.

Helen Hunter, of Huddersfield, said: “I was sat reading a book when I felt the whole room shudder for a few seconds, the whole house shook.

“I thought one of my family members had slammed the outside door very forcefully, but when I went to investigate they were all watching TV and said they didn’t feel anything.

“I thought I’d imagined the whole thing! I then checked online and confirmed it”.

The British Geological Survey said the tremor struck about six miles west of Ripon. “Many people throughout the region have reported having felt this event,” the organisation said.

Dr Aoife O’Mongain from the BGS 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.”

A previous earthquake shook Huddersfield in 2008.

The epicentre was in Lincolnshire and it measured 5.2 on the Richter scale.

It was the biggest earthquake to hit the UK since 1984 – and was felt by countless people across Huddersfield.

There were no reports of damage but many felt the tremor shortly before 1am.

The quake’s epicentre was near Market Rasen, in Lincolnshire, but people across England said they felt buildings shaking.

The biggest ever quake to hit the UK was in June 1931. It was at Dogger Bank, 60 miles out into the North Sea, off the north-east coast.

That quake measured 6.1 on the Richter scale.

Last five quakes to hit the UK:

December 21, 2010 - Cumbria

September 1, 2010 - North Sea

April 28, 2009 - Ulverston, Cumbria

April 11, 2009 - Goxhill, Lincolnshire

March 3, 2009 - Folkestone, Kent