A 3.0 magnitude earthquake in Surrey caused somebody to think a plane had crashed, police have said. The tremor was felt in Newdigate, Surrey, less than 10 miles from Gatwick Airport, at 3.42am, according to the British Geological Survey (BGS).

Surrey Police received a number of calls from concerned residents, including one person reporting that a plane had crashed, and another thinking their house had been broken into.

A further call asked if there had been an earthquake, and a fourth reported a loud bang.

Wednesday morning's tremor was the fourth recorded quake in the area in the last fortnight, with the ground having moved on February 19, and twice on Valentine's Day.

The latest movement was the strongest, however, after the BGS recorded a 2.0 magnitude tremor on February 19, and 2.4 and 0.2 quakes on February 14.

Stephen Hicks, seismologist at Imperial College London, said: "All these earthquakes are occurring in exactly the same location at a shallow depth of 2km beneath the surface."