A STRONG earthquake has rocked the Greek island of Lesbos, injuring 10 people and damaging dozens of homes at the Brit tourist hotspot.

The magnitude 6.2 quake struck off the coast of western Turkey close to the islands of Samos and Lesbos, which are hugely popular with holidaymakers.

6 A strong earthquake has rocked the Greek island of Lesbos, pictured is the damage to homes in Plomari Credit: AP:Associated Press

6 A woman clears her shop after the magnitude 6.2 quake Credit: AP:Associated Press

It struck at a depth of 10km today and tremors were felt as far away as the Greek capital, Athens, and Istanbul, according to the European earthquake monitor, EMSC.

The mayor of Plomari, Manolis Armenakas, told ERT state television: "We have damage to several buildings, old and new. We are now evaluating the damage.”

At least 10 people were injured in the village of Vrisa in Lesbos, Greek authorities said.

6 It struck at a depth of 10km today and tremors were felt as far away as the Greek capital Credit: EPA

6 A man rides his motorbike near one of the damaged homes in Plomari Credit: AP:Associated Press

Local people tell me #earthquake #Lesbos strongest they have ever felt (6.2);damages but no injuries reported.My pic: stones fell #Mytilini pic.twitter.com/ASjewWJa35 — Robert Schuddeboom (@rschuddeboom) June 12, 2017

Didem Eris, 50, a dentist who works in Izmir's Karsiyaka district said: "The trembling was really bad.

"Everything in my clinic started shaking wildly, we all ran outside with the patients.

"We are very used to earthquakes as people of Izmir but this one was different. I thought to myself that this time we were going to die."

The epicentre of the quake was 84 km (52 miles) northwest of the Turkish city of Izmir.

At least 20 aftershocks were recorded.

6 Dozens of homes were damaged on the Greek island of Lesbos Credit: Alamy

AFP reporters in Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city, said the earthquake was felt in the city centre and caused alarm among residents.

Ayse Selvi, 61, felt the tremors in her summer home in Karaburun near the quake's epicentre.

"My God, all the picture frames fell on the ground and I have no idea how I ran out. I'm scared to go inside now."

Her sister Seval Isci, 57, fled her home in Izmir along with the other residents of the building when the first aftershock hit.

"We were really scared," she said.

6 The Greek island of Lesbos is popular with Brit holidaymakers Credit: Alamy

Authorities in Lesbos said dozens of homes were damaged in parts of the island and some roads were closed.

Senior seismologist Efthimios Lekkas said: "We are advising residents in affected areas of Lesbos to remain outdoors until buildings can be inspected."

Turkey and Greece sit on significant fault lines and have regularly been hit by earthquakes in recent years.

This year alone, Turkey's western Aegean coast was hit by several earthquakes of up to 5.5 magnitude, which brought back memories of past deadly earthquakes.

In 1999, a powerful magnitude 7.0 quake hit near the city of Izmit, devastating the country's densely populated northwestern zone and killing more than 17,000 people.