Earthquake!

9.31.41am GMT Wed 27th Feb 2008

"One of the problems of living in a 300-year-old house is that the lack of modern foundations makes your home much more vulnerable in an earthquake", commented David Rendel, West Berkshire's Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson at 1:30 am on Wednesday morning, just half an hour after England's latest earthquake was felt across a wide area of the country.

"I certainly felt it as I sat working at my desk, but luckily for me my house appears to have survived unscathed. I hope the same is true for everyone else in West Berkshire.

"I have felt earthquakes at least as strong as this while I have been abroad. But this one was the only one I can remember actually feeling in this country. I thought at first that there must be some enormous vehicle rumbling down the lane outside my house. But when the shaking went on I realized that it had to be an earthquake. That was when I felt the floor underneath my chair moving around and making me feel as if I was giddy."