New Ollerton earthquakes 'like living above a monster'

James Lawson said experiencing the tremors was surreal

A town that has experienced a series of earthquakes is to be investigated further after a resident described it as like living above a "monster".

Seismologists said New Ollerton, in Nottinghamshire, is the "most seismically active" area in the British Isles, and probably due to mining.

James Lawson said it sounded like "something was trying to get through".

The British Geological Survey (BGS) said it was planning to install more instruments to study the tremors.

Mr Lawson, who lives in New Ollerton, said: "It's rather surreal and my son likens it to the monster under the house because it sounds like something is trying to get through.

"There's an almighty boom followed by extra after-booms. Sometimes, the car alarm might go off in the garage. Pots might fall off the side in the kitchen.

"At first it was a little scary, you fear for your house and property, but we've learned to live with it. It's more a curiosity than a nuisance."

'Squiggly lines'

Seismologist David Galloway, from the BGS, said: "The seismic waves might be particularly strong where he [Mr Lawson] is.

"Our nearest seismometer is about 45km (27.9 miles) away so there are errors in our locations.

Mr Galloway added that a BGS team has discussed deploying temporary instruments in mines from nearby Thoresby Colliery.

He said: [This is to] get a better handle on where the actual locations of these events are happening.

"Looking at the seismograms, the squiggly lines, when you overlay them they're all coming from the same source."

The BGS said it recorded 41 earthquakes around the British Isles over the last 50 days with the majority happening in Nottinghamshire.

UK Coal said people should not be concerned about mining taking place at Thoresby Colliery.