Earthquake tremor in Crawley

Residents in the Bewbush and Ifield area reported feeling the tremor of a few seconds just before midday today, with reports still coming in from further afield.

The British Geological Society has confirmed the earthquake as a magnitude 3 tremor that had its epicentre five kilometres below Newdigate in Surrey.

It said the quake, which orginated in the same area as a similar incident last week, was larger than the last three tremors in the region

Author Trevor Montague from Bewbush said it was ‘quite frightening’.

He said: “It was a definite very loud tremor and the house shook.

“You know the feeling when a fast train goes by and everything shudders, it was like that, just very amplified.

“Nothing came off my desk, so fairly low scale, I’ve been here 40 years and I’ve never had anything like this before.”

Many reports described the tremor as a loud ‘bang’.

Angela Bradbury from West Green said it ‘felt like an explosion or thunder’.

She said: “The ground moved and the conservatory I was in shock. We have builders in the next set of terrace houses and I thought they had dropped something heavy.

Richard Kail, from Milne Close in Bewbush had a similar experience. He said: “I was just sitting watching TV and I felt a kind of shock wave. It was really sudden, just a big bang.”

Andrea Hoult, aged 70, from Faygate also felt the quake but was less unnerved.

“It was around 11.50am and I was in our apartment when I heard the rumbling,” she said.

“I have experienced earthquakes before when I was in Jordan and Kenya so I knew exactly what it was. I was sat doing some hand sewing when I heard the rumbling. We are close to a train line, airport and road hear but I knew it was not caused by them.

“It only lasted a few seconds but it does cause great excitement.”

Mrs Hoult didn’t hide under a table or stand in a door frame. She said: “This England, I knew it wouldn’t be anything more than a rumbling.”

Terry Marshall, 77, from Ifield West said he thought he was going mad, until neighbours starting knocking on the door reporting the same thing.

“It was quite substantial, the lady next door has just knocked, it had woken up one of her sons,” he said.

One resident in the Kilnwood Vale area said he’d heard from a colleague in Gatwick who had also felt the shake.

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