Hello Shropshire, did the earth move for you?

An earthquake in the Midlands sent ripples across the region. Shropshire was on the edge of the tremors recorded by the British Geological Survey.

Call that an earthquake? We can do better than that in Shropshire, can't we?

Wednesday's earthquake had a magnitude of 3.8 on the Richter scale.

To put it into some sort of perspective, the earthquake of April 2, 1990, which had its epicentre near Clun, reached 5.2 on the Richter scale, and was the worst quake in Shropshire for a century, causing some damage but, happily, no injuries.

And to put Shropshire's 1990 experience into some sort of perspective, the earthquake of 2011 near the east coast of Honshu, Japan, was a magnitude of 9.

The quake and the tsunami which followed caused widespread devastation and claimed around 20,000 lives.

That meant the earth literally moved for tens of thousands of people in towns like Market Drayton and Telford.

The earthquake was actually centred on the East Midlands village of Cottesmore, in Rutland. It struck at around 10.25pm on Wednesday and was the second to strike England in two days, with Winchester being shaken on Tuesday.

There was little chance of any damage being caused and many people didn't even feel it, even at the epicentre. The Midlands 'quake had a magnitude of 3.8 and the one in Winchester was measured at 2.9.

The British Geological Survey said 1,400 people had reported feeling a tremor – and there were some reports of the earth moving towards the south of the county on the Herefordshire border.

It was the third such quake to hit the same area of Rutland in the past two years, which experts described as "unusual".

BGS seismologist Paul Denton, who lives in Oakham, a few miles from the epicentre, said he heard and felt an almost instantaneous "bang and a sharp jolt" but said those farther away would have witnessed shaking and vibrations.

However, he said it was unlikely the quake was strong enough to have caused structural damage.

Residents took to Twitter to tell of their shock after realising an earthquake had struck.

Sally Smart ?wrote: "Earthquake wow that was a biggen!! Thought a truck was coming through the house #adrenalinepumping."

A man called Ben wrote: "How was there an earthquake in England? It's the end of the world."

Another called Dirk wrote: "Meanwhile on Facebook, people from my village, where the earthquake barely hit, are making sure they're all okay and prepared for the worst."

Others posted photographs of framed pictures hanging on the walls slightly askew to show the aftermath of the earthquake.