Homeowners count cost of earthquake

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Thousands of people, some as far apart as Dumfries in Scotland and Swansea in South Wales, were abruptly shaken awake when the tremor struck just before 1am.

Insurers estimated the damage caused by the quake, measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale, would amount to tens of millions of pounds.

Emergency services across the UK were flooded with calls and hundreds of homeowners reported damage - but there was only one confirmed injury. Student David Bates, 19, suffered a suspected broken pelvis when a chunk of masonry from a chimney stack crashed into his bedroom.

The keen amateur footballer was watching TV in bed at his home in Barnsley Road, Wombwell, South Yorkshire, when the earthquake struck. Covered in soot, he was taken by ambulance to Barnsley Hospital, where he was said to be most worried about missing important Barnsley FC matches.

His father, Paul Bates, was philosophical, saying: "Of all the things that can happen - an earthquake. I could not believe it but, when I think about it, it could have been worse."

The British Geological Survey (BGS) said the quake hit at 12.56am and its epicentre was just north of Market Rasen in Lincolnshire. BGS seismologist Brian Baptie said: "This is a significant earthquake for the UK and will have been widely felt across England and Wales."

Market Rasen escaped the worst of the damage - a stone cross fell from a church in the town, but most buildings escaped unscathed. For most residents it was the sudden noise and shaking that stayed in the memory.

Mother-of-two Eleanor Ramsey, 31, said: "I was scared to death. The whole house was shaking. It felt like a bomb had gone off. I woke up screaming and my son was screaming, so we got the children in bed with us. I have never been so scared in my life."

Elsewhere around the country, chimneys fell down, roof tiles were dislodged and parts of garden walls collapsed. The worst-hit areas were around Lincolnshire and Humberside, but people as far away as Bristol and London also reported their homes suddenly shaking.