Earthquake strikes English towns as tremors shake homes amid 'thunder noise'

A 2.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Silverdale in Lancashire in the early hours of the morning

An earthquake has shaken English towns for the second time in two weeks.

A 2.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Silverdale in Morecambe Bay, Lancashire, in the early hours of the morning (December 19), the British Geological Survey (BGS) has said. The tremor was felt by residents around the Morecambe Bay area, who reported "a quick sharp shaking jolt" accompanied by a "thunder noise" while "the radiators and pictures rattled", according to the BGS.

It comes after a stronger 3.3-magnitude earthquake hit a similar area of Lancashire earlier this month. It struck almost two miles beneath the surface at 11.23pm on December 4 and was felt "across the South Lakes and Lancashire, mainly within 20 kilometres of the epicentre, including Lancashire, Kendal and Ulverston".

After this morning's earthquake, people in the area took to social media, with some reporting being woken by the tremors, Lancashire Live reports. "Anyone else feel another two small earthquakes?" One user wrote, "One about 5.04 and another about 5.08? Woke me up but everyone else is still."

Another said: "Yep. Wasn't 'as' loud and didn't shake 'as' much but it woke me from been semi asleep ... One was strange but two in two weeks."

Another user wrote: "Yes, woke me up by a loud boom & the bedroom window shook came from Silverdale direction, I live in New Barns Road. Huge bang. Then a smaller one a couple of minutes later," said another person.