Did the earth move for you yesterday afternoon (Saturday)?

A minor earthquake with a 4.4 magnitude was felt across Wales and England – including Chester , Connah’s Quay and Liverpool – at about 2.30pm.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) said the epicentre was about 20km north-north-east of Swansea and at a depth of 7.4km.

The quake was felt over all of Wales, most of western England, as far east as London and as far north as the southern edge of the Lake District, according to the BGS.

Social media was full of reports from people ‘all shook up’ although fortunately there were no reports of serious damage or injuries.

Alex Staniforth, from Kelsall, who survived the devastating 2015 earthquake in Nepal while climbing Everest, tweeted: "Anybody else feel the small earth tremor in Cheshire just now?! Family don't believe me. After Nepal 2015 I know an earthquake when I feel one!"

Alex Staniforth has spoken of his terror at Mount Everest after the Nepal earthquake

Laura Jane Burgess said on Twitter : “100% felt the mini earthquake in Chester #earthquake.”

Steve Beckwith wrote: “Sunny day in Chester but heard massive rumble at 2.30 thought can’t be thunder to then find out it was the result of an earthquake in Swansea.”

Elaine Hanzak tweeted: “What was that? My cat Mog and I just felt the #earthquake uk near #Chester.”

Marilyn said: “Just felt slight tremor from #earthquake near Chester UK. Radio fell off table!”

Kelly-Ann, from North Wales, posted: “Yes! I live in Broughton , Chester and the house just shook! Thought I was imagining it!!! #earthquake #uk.”

The British Geological Survey says this was the largest earthquake on mainland Britain in almost 10 years – since the magnitude 5.2 quake at Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, on February 27, 2008, which was felt many in the North West, including Chester, when it struck just before 1am.

BGS received reports of this earthquake being felt by several thousand people. An quake of this size occurs somewhere on mainland Britain roughly every four years.

Where the earthquake was felt following the event near Swansea

Dr Stephen Hicks, a seismologist with the University of Southampton, told BBC Radio Five Live: “In the UK the country has a very complex tectonic history going back hundreds of millions of years where we have had mountains being built in the area of the UK and that has left a lot of weaknesses or geological faults in the crust.

“And so the stresses from our closest tectonic plate boundaries down in the Mediterranean and over in the middle of the Atlantic are slowly transferring stress to the UK and every few years that releases stress, manifested as a fairly minor earthguake here in the UK.”

He said it was impossible to predict such quakes, particularly in the UK because ‘we don’t always know where these faults are’.