The Latest: Earthquake shakes the nation

After feeling the tremors of an earthquake, I took it upon myself to become part of the media hysteria surrounding one of the strangest occurrences in my lifetime. After calling my friend in Hull (minutes before finding out that the city was closest to the epicentre of the earthquake), I converted his quotes to create my first real piece of breaking news, having written the piece within half an hour of the seismic activity. See my report here or on The Latest!

REPORTS are coming in thick and fast of seismic activity across Britain.

The Global Seismic Monitor places the epicentre around 30 miles south of Hull, in range of Lincoln, with a strength of 4.7-5.0 on the Richter Scale.

Alistair Horsley, 21, from Hull, said: "I couldn't believe what was happening.

"I froze for 30 seconds to consider what had happened. It was only until half of my street had come out of their houses to see what had happened that it was a big deal.

"Many of my friends on Facebook had posted similar comments and I knew it wasn't just a local thing."

The US Geological Survey has told the media that it was a strangely large earthquake for this part of the world.

Other areas such as Manchester, Boston and West Yorkshire have reported strong tremors, with others feeling their affects as far away as Bristol and Southampton.

In 2002, another earthquake hit Dudley, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to homes in the area.

Although no reports of damage from the earthquake have been released, the public will have to wait until later today to understand the full extent of the activity.