The biggest earth tremor to hit England in nearly 25 years was felt by residents across the Keighley area when it struck in the early hours of today.

From Oxenhope to Silsden, Oakworth to Cullingworth, residents were shaken awake in their beds shortly before 1am.

The earth tremor - the epicentre of which was near Market Rasen in Lincolnshire - measured 5.2 on the Richter Scale and caused a mixture of fright, panic and disbelief across the district.

Long Lee resident Susan Ettenfield, 46, said the tremor was powerful enough to shift her bed away from the wall.

"It woke me and my husband - there was this really strange whirring noise," she said.

"The cupboards were shaking and when I got out of bed I could feel the whole room moving.

"Our bed had actually moved and we both went outside in our pyjamas to check the house was OK.

"I'd never been so frightened in my life - I couldn't believe it."

Christine Sharp, 65, who lives at Riddlesden, said she and her husband thought it might have been an explosion.

She said: "My dressing table top is glass and it was vibrating and when I got up this morning the tray had moved about three inches and a lipstick was on the floor.

"I have never experienced anything like it, you don't expect an earthquake in this country do you?"

Brenda Cox, 69, who lives in the St Peter's Court housing scheme, Keighley, said she was already awake when the tremor struck and she found the experience alarming.

"I was panicking for a minute," she said. "Everything was shaking and I didn't have a clue what it was.

"There was a gas explosion in the flat above me about two or three years ago and this brought it all back.

"I think it all lasted about 10 seconds but somehow it seemed longer than that. I've never felt an earthquake before."

Despite the widespread panic, Keighley fire service said it had not been called to houses with any serious damage.

Some alarmed readers did get up in the middle of the night to email the Keighley News with their reports.

At 2.33am Bob and Janet Horrell wrote: "The earth tremor that struck today at 1am was felt in Occupation Lane, Keighley. It shook the house and rattled the cupboard doors. Janet & I knew what it was as we had experienced the same thing shortly after we moved here in 2002.

"No damage to report at this time, but I shall look outside at first light."

The British Geological Survey (BGS) recorded the exact time of the earth tremor at 00.56 GMT, and confirmed that at it was the largest earthquake in the UK since a 5.4 earthquake which struck Llyn Peninsula in 1984.

Although tremors of this size are quite rare in the UK, the BGS said it recorded approximately 200 earthquakes annually, 25 of which are actually felt by people.