Did the earth shake for the people of Masham?

Yorkshire was hit by the third earthquake in three months when the ground shook in Hull and Grimsby - but is the hotbed of seismic activity closer to Harrogate than we realise?
Two earthquakes hit the small market town of Masham in the Harrogate District.Two earthquakes hit the small market town of Masham in the Harrogate District.
Two earthquakes hit the small market town of Masham in the Harrogate District.

In April, the British Geological Survey (BGS) recorded two earthquakes five kilometres south-east of Masham near Ripon.

Both measured a magnitude of just 2.1 on the Richter scale - significantly less than the 3.9 quake which hit Grimsby on Saturday, June 9, and was felt some 100km away.

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But the Harrogate District is not without its own seismic activity in years gone by.

On February 27, 2008, homes in Harrogate were 'rattled' by the biggest earthquake Britain had seen in the last 25 years.

Emergency services received calls from worried residents across the district when the 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit the town.

Some years later in 2011 the district was shaken again, when a 3.6 magnitude quake struck nine kilometres north-west of Ripon.

The shake in January 2011 was felt by residents in Boroughbridge, Bingley and Skipton but the BGS said it was unlikely to have caused any damage at the time.