From shaking beds to people believing they were being broken into – readers have given their accounts of the earthquake tremor which hit Suffolk and Essex.

Although inundated with calls, Kent police say there have been no injuries or damage to buildings after a magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck the county at about 2.50am this morning.

Tremors were felt across the east coast, Essex, mid and east Suffolk and Norfolk. Suffolk police have reported no calls being made to them though.

Readers of the East Anglian Daily Times and Ipswich Star have sent in their own accounts of what they felt, saw and heard.

Linda Tompkins, 65, from Grange Farm, Kesgrave, said the tremor was “frightening”.

She said: “I thought something had hit the roof, it vibrated down the house and my bed shook with me in it. But it only lasted a second, which was the beauty of it.”

Debbie Green in Ashbocking thought it was low-flying military helicopter said: “I was up as I could not sleep and then suddenly felt my whole house rattle. I thought it was a RAF helicopter flying too low as they regularly fly over but then looked out the window and there was nothing. [I] then thought to myself that felt like an earthquake and it was.”

Linda Hayes from Stutton agreed: “I was woken by what I thought was a large lorry going past or [a] helicopter flying low. I don’t recall the house shaking, but maybe that’s because we live in a very old wooden framed building.”

Jo Agnews added: “I live in Stowmarket and was woken by the earth tremor, it only lasted a few seconds, but it shook the bed.”

And Dr Judith Shelley from Great Bealings said: “How strange – to be woken from sleep by an earthquake at 2.52am! The whole house shook including the hangers in the wardrobe! It was just as I remembered from being in San Francisco in 1995! But never felt one in Great Bealings before.”

Some thought they were being broken into. Robbie Hutchinson said: “Yes, we thought our house was being broken into. (Rushmere St Andrew, IP5).”

Mary Elizabeth Ranson said on Facebook: “I woke my husband up here in IP2, because I thought there was someone in the house! Glad to find out what it was. Cat was acting weird too.”

And cats were not the only pet to be affected by the tremors.

Debbie Hawkins added: “Our parrot and dog woke me up, I did not know why till this morning.”

Residents in St Osyth and Wivenhoe in north Essex also felt the tremor which went at least as west as Stowmarket.

It seems the tremor was not as strong in west Suffolk. Martin Mortimer tweet: “Didn’t feel a thing in Sudbury, Suffolk.”

Although Caitlin Phillips, also in Sudbury, said: “Glad to know it was an earthquake and not the poltergeist waking me in the early hours of the morning. I thought intruders were pounding up the stairs and making the floors shake, a most bizarre sensation”

- Were you awoken by the earthquake? Leave your comments below or email matt.hunter@archant.co.uk.

What is an earthquake?

An earthquake is the sudden release of strain energy in the Earth’s crust resulting in waves of shaking that radiate outwards from the earthquake source. When stresses in the crust exceed the strength of the rock, it breaks along lines of weakness, either a pre-existing or new fault plane.

How often do earthquakes occur in the UK?

On average, around 200 earthquakes a year are thought to hit the UK, with a magnitude 4.2 happening every two or three years.

How does last night’s earthquake compare with the recent tragedy in Nepal?

Last night’s earthquake was significantly smaller than that which caused widespread devastation and claimed thousands of lives in Nepal.

It was about 260,000 times smaller in terms of the energy released by the earthquake.

Last night people would have felt slight vibrations and been awoken from their sleep, compared to buildings collapsing and widespread damage caused by the magnitude 7.8 quake that struck near Kathmandu.

What has been the most damaging quake to hit the UK?

The Colchester earthquake of 1884, with a magnitude of 4.6 was the most damaging earthquake in the UK for several centuries.

There was considerable damage to churches, including the top of a spire falling, falling masonry from roofs, falling turrets and parapets.

Damage to homes included shattering of brick walls, and chimney falls, often through roofs.

What is the largest earthquake to have been felt in the UK?

The North Sea earthquake of 7 June 1931, with a magnitude of 6.1 and with an epicentre offshore in the Dogger Bank area is the largest known earthquake in the UK.

Seventy-one different places in the UK reported damage, with the strongest effects at Filey, where the top of a church spire was rotated.

A factory roof is reported to have collapsed at Staines, Surrey. The earthquake was reportedly felt by a number of vessels in the North Sea and a woman in Hull died of a heart attack, apparently as a result of the earthquake.