70 families homeless after quake shakes the Garden of England

The cost of the tremor, which shook Folkestone in Kent on Saturday morning, could run into tens of millions of pounds.

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Hundreds of pupils had their lessons cancelled because the earthquake - which measured 4.3 on the Richter scale - left their school too dangerous to enter.

Yesterday, the clear-up operation began with firemen removing scores of precariously balanced chimney stacks and trying to secure buildings.

Cracked walls as well as loose tiles and masonry made 73 of the 474 properties that were damaged too badly for habitation.

At Harvey Grammar School for Boys, which has 900 pupils, several ceilings collapsed, severe cracks appeared in the walls and roof and numerous loose and broken bricks were found scattered in classrooms.

Surveyors will assess the damage today.

Families are staying with relatives, friends, at hotels or at a local Salvation Army centre following the quake, which happened at 8.18am.

Denise Gill, 45, who works at Sainsbury's in Folkestone, said: "I was already at work when it happened and things started flying off the shelves. I then received a phone call from my daughter Jodie who was at home.

"She said, 'Mum, the chimney's fallen down'. She was quite upset. The whole thing is so unstable that they won't let us go back in yet."

Kelly Wright, 24, from Folkestone, who in four weeks is due to give birth to her second child, said: "I was watching television with my 19-month-old son Nathan when the house just seemed to get up and walk forward.

"I just picked him up and ran out of the house.

"I was concerned because I am so heavily pregnant. I thought if this doesn't set me off, nothing will."

Only one person, a woman in her 30s, was injured. She was taken to hospital with head wounds caused by falling debris.

Malcolm Tarling, of the Association of British Insurers, said the damage to the area was extensive and insurance firms should be prepared for a mountain of claims.

"Damage is going to run into millions of pounds maybe into the low tens of millions of pounds," he added.

The quake, which centred on the Foord area of Folkestone, was also felt across Essex, Suffolk and East Sussex.

More than 200 emergency calls were made immediately after the earthquake and 40 firemen were helping with the clear-up yesterday.

Electricity and gas supplies to houses in some parts of Kent were cut off.

Scottish and Southern Energy investigated 300 'possible gas escapes', while EDF Energy said several thousand customers lost electricity. The supplies were later restored.

Chief fire officer Charlie Hendry said: "Safety checks are still going on. We were checking buildings through the night but wanted to have another look today in the daylight to make sure our assessments of each property were accurate."

The earthquake was not quite as big as the tremor, measuring 5 on the Richter scale, that shook Dudley in the West Midlands in 2002.

The UK's largest recorded quake was in the North Sea about 75 miles north-east of Great Yarmouth in June 1931. It measured 6.1 on the scale.