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Cornwall hit by earthquake that 'felt like hand grenade going off'

Provided by Metro The British Geological Survey said it had a magnitude of 0.1 (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

An earthquake ‘as intense as a hand grenade’ was recorded in the UK over the Queen’s Jubilee weekend.

The tremor took place in Constantine, near Falmouth, in Cornwall.

Data from the British Geological Survey (BGS) revealed that the earth tremor occurred on Friday just after 7pm.

The shallow quake at Constantine was only 5km deep and had a magnitude of just 0.1.

The strength of the blast has been described ‘as the equivalent to a hand grenade.’

But locals said that despite the quake, the earth didn’t quite move for them.

One joked: ‘That’s all the extra weight of these tourists on the tip of Cornwall pushing us farther into the sea.’

Another underwhelmed local wrote: ‘Felt more tremors when I fell out of bed.’

Often, small earthquakes in the UK aren’t in fact felt by the general public.

But earlier this year, a strong 5.1 magnitude earthquake meant people in Shetland were awoken by ‘shaking and rumbling sounds’.

Tremors had rippled 10km beneath the earth’s surface in the Norwegian Sea.

The strength of the movement meant peoples windows and beds were ‘rattled for minutes’.

Ryan Thomson, who lives in Wadbister, Shetland, had said he woke up to something that sounded like a ‘low flying jet’.

Tremor seven reached Aberdeen – more than 300 miles away from the epicentre of the rumble.

The 5.1 magnitude earthquake may have been the strongest recorded in recent months, but it still pales in comparison to a 6.1 quake in 1931.

Its tremors were felt throughout the British Isles as well as in Belgium and France. 

Reference: Metro:Kirsten Robertson