AN EARTHQUAKE which hit mid Cornwall in the early hours of Sunday morning was felt in the east of the county and parts of Devon, with one report of a building being damaged in Gunnislake.

The quake, with a magnitude of 2.2, struck at 2.40am with its epicentre close to Bodmin.

Police received in excess of 40 telephone calls from members of the public including three incidents of minor structural damage but no injuries.

A 4ft crack was discovered running down a terraced property in Russell Close, Gunnislake. Resident Nicola Williams said she was scared because at first she thought it might be a mine shaft collapsing.

'We rang the police and they said it was an earth tremor and they had received a lot of calls, so then we did not worry as much,' she said.

She said when she went outside to see what had happened many of the neighbours were up as well.

Some householders said the earthquake — lasting several seconds — shook furniture and rattled windows.

The Royal Geological Survey measured the depth of the Bodmin quake as three kilometres but pointed out that a minor tremor like this one was relatively common in the UK.

Seismologist David Galloway said the UK had between 150 and 200 earthquakes a year, but of these, only 20 or 30 were felt by anyone, although the larger ones could cause structural damage.