A 3.8 magnitude earthquake struck Shropshire on Monday afternoon, the British Geological Survey (BGS) said.
The BGS said the quake - the third to hit the UK in the last 24 hours - happened at around 3.36pm at a depth of 8km.
Earthquakes measuring 3.8 magnitude or more are only seen in the UK "roughly every two years", the organisation said.
"BGS has received numerous reports that this event has been felt by residents in Shropshire and surrounding counties," they said in a statement.
Image:The epicentre of the quake is believed to be about five miles east of the town of Wem in Shropshire
"An earthquake of this size can result in strong shaking within about 10km of the epicentre but damage is unlikely."
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"The earthquake may have been felt at distances as far as 100km away," the BGS added.
The epicentre of the quake is believed to be about five miles east of the town of Wem in Shropshire, just under 11 miles from Shrewsbury.
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People declared "my chair wobbled", "house felt like it moved from left to right", "noticeable shaking coming through the floor", "noticed an odd trembling through my office chair, faint but persisted for about three seconds" and "all the windows rattled," according to the BGS website.
Ruth Reed, who works as an architect in Upton Magna in Shropshire, said: "Just after half past three, there was a jolt and the offices shook.
"We thought a lorry had hit the building and looked out both sides.
"People came out of the other offices to see what was happening."
Claire Osborn, from Shropshire, said on Twitter that she felt the earthquake tremor while gardening.
Meanwhile Sam Roberts, in Wem, said: "I definitely felt it… quite an [un]usual experience!!"
West Mercia Police and Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said they had not yet been called to any reports of incidents related to the quake.
Earlier on Monday, a 2.1 magnitude earthquake was recorded in Arran, North Ayrshire, Scotland just before 8am, while another with a magnitude of 2.3 struck in Sale, Greater Manchester, at 8.40pm on Sunday, according to the BGS.
A 3.8 magnitude earthquake struck Shropshire on Monday afternoon, the British Geological Survey (BGS) said.
The BGS said the quake - the third to hit the UK in the last 24 hours - happened at around 3.36pm at a depth of 8 km.
Earthquakes measuring 3.8 magnitude or more are only seen in the UK "roughly every two years", the organisation said.
"BGS has received numerous reports that this event has been felt by residents in Shropshire and surrounding counties," they said in a statement.
Image:The epicentre of the quake is believed to be about five miles east of the town of Wem in Shropshire
The epicentre of the quake is believed to be about five miles east of the town of Wem in Shropshire, just under 11 miles from Shrewsbury.
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People declared "my chair wobbled", "house felt like it moved from left to right", "noticeable shaking coming through the floor", "noticed an odd trembling through my office chair, faint but persisted for about three seconds" and "all the windows rattled," according to the BGS website.
Claire Osborn, from Shropshire, said on Twitter that she felt the earthquake tremor while gardening.
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Meanwhile Sam Roberts, in Wem, said: "I definitely felt it… quite an [un]usual experience!!"
West Mercia Police and Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said they had not yet been called to any reports of incidents related to the quake.
Earlier on Monday, a 2.1 magnitude earthquake was recorded in Arran, North Ayrshire, Scotland just before 8am, while another with a magnitude of 2.3 struck in Sale, Greater Manchester, at 8.40pm on Sunday, according to the BGS.
EasyJet says it will cancel more than 200 flights over the next 10 days, putting half-term breaks at risk for thousands of travellers.
The airline said about 24 flights from Gatwick would be affected each day between now and 6 June.
A spokeswoman for the company said: "We are very sorry for the late notice of some of these cancellations and inconvenience caused for customers booked on these flights, however we believe this is necessary to provide reliable services over this busy period.
"Customers are being informed from today (Friday) and provided with the option to rebook their flight or receive a refund and can apply for compensation in line with regulations.
"Over the next week we will be operating around 1,700 flights per day, with around a quarter of these operating to and from Gatwick."
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Image:There have been long queues at some UK airports, including Gatwick
Meanwhile, passengers are facing lengthy queues at airports including Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted and Bristol. People on social media have reported long waiting times at Dublin airport.
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Also, holiday firm TUI has announced a "small number" of flight cancellations and delays in a further blow to travel plans at the start of the half-term break.
The travel company said "various operational and supply chain issues" are to blame for the flight cancellations.
It has cancelled three flights from Birmingham, two flights from Gatwick and one from Manchester.
Passenger tells of 'hellish' experience at Gatwick
Charlie Day said that she and her family waited for 22 hours before they were able to board their flight to Barcelona, describing her experience at Gatwick as "hellish" and "horrific".
She told Sky News: "We were booked on the 2.30pm Vueling flight yesterday and we were bumped off because they oversold it. Then, after a lot of waiting around, we were booked onto the 9.45pm.
"We waited and waited at the airport, and at 9pm it was delayed for 30 minutes, and then it was delayed and delayed, until at midnight they told us to go to the gate.
"At the gate we went through and waited in the room at boarding. We were there for an hour with no food or drink or even a toilet, and then at 1.07am they cancelled the flight. No Vueling representative ever came and spoke to us.
"We had to go back through passports and security and back to baggage where we waited another hour and a half to be told we wouldn't get our bags back but we were all booked on the 9am flight tomorrow.
"We finally took off at 10.30am, 22 and a half hours later, and we are travelling with our five-year-old."
British Airways has said it is set to operate its schedule as planned and is not experiencing any significant issues.
In other travel disruption, Liverpool FC supporters faced long delays at the Port of Dover on Friday as they waited to cross the Channel to Paris for Saturday's Champions League final against Real Madrid.
There is also high demand for sailings from families embarking on trips to the continent for half-term.
Lincolnshire Police said the defacement was being treated as criminal damage.
The bronze statue of the former prime minister was lowered into place in St Peter's Hill earlier this month, despite warnings it would be "egged" and draw boos from passing motorists.
It sits atop a 10ft (3m) high plinth under CCTV surveillance to minimise the risk of vandalism.
The sculpture was offered to South Kesteven District Council after plans to erect it in Parliament Square in London were rejected.
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The former prime minister was born in Grantham in 1925 and died in April 2013, aged 87.
The only previous memorial to her in the town was a plaque on the corner of North Parade and Broad Street to mark where she was born.
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A clean-up operation has begun after a superyacht caught fire and sank in a marina, with about nine tonnes of diesel on board.
The cause of the fire on the 85ft (26m) boat at Princess Pier in Torquay, Devon, is currently being treated by police as unexplained.
Police declared a major incident and evacuated a nearby beach and roads.
Torquay's harbourmaster said he was "very confident" the "majority" of fuel and debris would be contained.
Rob Parsons told the BBC contractors had laid three booms around the boat and were skimming the area inside, sucking the diesel out and transferring it away in tankers.
He said: "She actually sank in a way that was very helpful, believe it or not - so she went straight down.
"Overnight I was concerned but the wind has been in our favour - it's pushed it, it's kept it all together against the wall, so I'm very confident at the moment that we have the majority of it."
Mr Parson said he was unable to confirm the name of the yacht or the owner.
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Karen Baxter, from the Environment Agency (EA), said the clean-up operation was being led by the Harbourmaster's Authority, supported by the EA.
"We understand there's probably around nine tonnes of diesel onboard the yacht," she said.
"We'll be working with the contractors to try and clean up as much diesel as we possibly can."
She added it was "too early to assess" what the impact of the spill would be on wildlife and water quality.
The boat, which police said broke from its mooring, was secured by the fire service near the marina's pier before it sank at about 16:00 BST.
Torbay Coastguard Rescue Team said a "large crowd of onlookers were evacuated from the pier" and that the RNLI helped a small number of people to safety "who were trapped by heavy smoke at the end of the pier".
Devon & Cornwall Police said no-one was reported injured but nearby residents were advised to keep windows and doors shut "due to the levels of smoke and fumes".
A spokesperson for the force said: "The Harbourmaster supported by the Environmental Agency will look to safely recover the vessel in due course."
Steve Darling, leader of Torbay Council, said: "Perhaps the biggest impact that people will see initially is having to close the pier due to the fire damage".
He said the pier was a "very good platform" for viewing the English Riviera Airshow which will take place over the June bank holiday weekend, and that assessments would be made on Monday to decide how much if any can reopen.
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A clean-up operation has begun after a superyacht caught fire and sank in a marina, with about nine tonnes of diesel on board.
The cause of the fire on the 85ft (26m) boat at Princess Pier in Torquay, Devon, is currently being treated by police as unexplained.
Emergency services declared a major incident and officers evacuated a nearby beach and roads.
Contractors have been working to contain the fuel.
Supplied
Karen Baxter, from the Environment Agency (EA), said the clean-up operation was being led by the Harbourmaster's Authority, supported by the EA.
"We understand there's probably around nine tonnes of diesel onboard the yacht," she said.
"Specialist contractors are being employed to put booms into place and try and keep the diesel as close as possible to the yacht.
"More specialist kit is being brought down from Bideford and we'll be working with the contractors to try and clean up as much diesel as we possibly can."
She added it was "too early to assess" what the impact of the spill would be on wildlife and water quality.
The boat, which police said broke from its mooring, was secured by the fire service near the marina's pier before it sank at about 16:00 BST.
Devon & Cornwall Police said no-one was reported injured but nearby residents were advised to keep windows and doors shut "due to the levels of smoke and fumes".
A spokesperson for the force said: "The Harbourmaster supported by the Environmental Agency will look to safely recover the vessel in due course."
A government minister has told Sky News he is "absolutely confident" nobody in Number 10 put pressure on Sue Gray to change details in her report into lockdown-breaking parties.
Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland Secretary, told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme he is confident Ms Gray could not be influenced by anybody and having worked with her before, he "would not question her independence".
Asked for a black and white assurance that nobody in Downing Street or the civil service tried to influence her report, Mr Lewis said: "I'm absolutely confident that's the case.
"Knowing Sue Gray, I don't believe anybody would be able to pressure her into putting any kind of report out that she wasn't confident with.
"I'm confident Sue Gray had the freedom to write the report she did write and publish."
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Boris Johnson is facing twin allegations of a partygate cover-up, with opposition leaders accusing him of "behaving like a tinpot despot".
The Liberal Democrats claim reports that Downing Street put pressure on Ms Gray to dilute her report into lockdown-busting events in Downing Street and Whitehall reveal an attempt to cover up "lies and law-breaking".
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'We don’t have confidence in PM'
On the Sue Gray report which was published last Wednesday, the Sunday Times claims that: "Sources, both political and civil service, say Gray was lobbied on Tuesday evening to make changes by three senior civil servants.
"They urged her not to publish the names of some of those who had attended the 12 law-breaking parties. Other changes were also requested to passages in the report that made reference to Carrie Johnson, the prime minister's wife.
"Gray told them to 'instruct' her to make the changes - a move that would have required a senior minister to sign off amendments, signalling publicly that the revisions had been made against her will."
The newspaper claims that up to 30 people had been contacted by Ms Gray telling them she intended to name them, but only 15 people were named in the final report.
It adds that details concerning the "Abba night" party, which it is claimed was held in the prime minister's flat on 13 November 2020, were "tweaked" by Mr Johnson's chief-of-staff Steve Barclay on the eve of publication.
It is alleged an earlier draft of Ms Gray's report referred to music being played and stated at what time the gathering ended, but that the information was redacted.
But Mr Lewis said it is not just Downing Street denying changes were made, but the Met Police looked at that particular event "and didn't find an issue to fine people".
Responding to the Sunday Times report, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain MP said: "This looks like another disgraceful attempt by Boris Johnson and the Conservatives to cover up for their lies and law-breaking.
"The Privileges Committee must immediately look into the supposed interference into the publication of the Sue Gray report. If the government really did alter the report, the British public should be told the truth."
A Cabinet Office spokesperson flatly denied the newspaper claims, saying: "We did not change the report in terms of substantive content. The key point that we would say about anything [that suggests] previous copy was substantively edited - it was never shared with Number 10 in advance."
And in response to allegations about the "Abba" party, the spokesperson said that Ms Gray investigated all events under the terms of reference.
Image:Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner says many Tory MPs are now 'deeply uncomfortable' with PM's behaviour
Labour, meanwhile, has committed to using an opposition day in the Commons to debate ministerial standards after Mr Johnson amended the ministerial code so ministers would not always have to resign for breaching it.
Ms Rayner claimed: "Boris Johnson is behaving like a tinpot despot and is trampling all over the principles of public life.
"Many decent Conservative MPs are deeply uncomfortable with Johnson's behaviour and they now have the chance to stop his sinister attempts at watering down standards and integrity in our democracy.
"Serious breaches of the ministerial code must result in resignation, whether they are deliberately misleading parliament, bullying staff, bribery or sexual assault.
"This prime minister simply cannot be trusted to uphold standards in government while his conduct sinks further into the gutter and he gives the green light to corruption.
"It's time to stop the rot that this prime minister has created at the heart of government and restore standards in public life."
