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| New Ollerton hit by 20 small earthquakes in four weeks | New Ollerton hit by 20 small earthquakes in four weeks |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Twenty small earthquakes have been recorded around a Nottinghamshire town in a month, the British Geological Survey (BGS) has confirmed. | Twenty small earthquakes have been recorded around a Nottinghamshire town in a month, the British Geological Survey (BGS) has confirmed. |
| The organisation said the activity had been recorded around New Ollerton since 10 December and was likely to have been caused by mining at Thoresby Colliery. | The organisation said the activity had been recorded around New Ollerton since 10 December and was likely to have been caused by mining at Thoresby Colliery. |
| A spokesman said the tremors were weak, with magnitudes of less than 2, but had been felt by residents. | |
| BGS seismologist Glenn Ford said people should not be concerned. | BGS seismologist Glenn Ford said people should not be concerned. |
| The BGS define earthquakes with a magnitude of 2 as being equivalent to a large quarry or mine blast. | |
| 'Centre of the universe' | |
| Mr Ford said it had been "common 20 to 30 years ago" to have so many small earthquakes, but now "they are rare as there's so little mining these days". | Mr Ford said it had been "common 20 to 30 years ago" to have so many small earthquakes, but now "they are rare as there's so little mining these days". |
| He added that people were once "calibrated" to mining tremors and got so used to them that they stopped registering, which he equated to a person becoming accustomed to noise and vibration made by their neighbours. | He added that people were once "calibrated" to mining tremors and got so used to them that they stopped registering, which he equated to a person becoming accustomed to noise and vibration made by their neighbours. |
| He added that "seismically, we are not very active in the UK, which is a good thing". | He added that "seismically, we are not very active in the UK, which is a good thing". |
| The BGS spokesman said the New Ollerton tremors were probably caused by stress on nearby fault lines triggered by the removal of rock and could continue. | The BGS spokesman said the New Ollerton tremors were probably caused by stress on nearby fault lines triggered by the removal of rock and could continue. |
| He added that the weakness of the tremors was highlighted by the fact earthquakes in Iran and Vanuatu registered magnitudes of 5.5 and 6.6 respectively during the same period. | He added that the weakness of the tremors was highlighted by the fact earthquakes in Iran and Vanuatu registered magnitudes of 5.5 and 6.6 respectively during the same period. |
| Karen Wakefield, Ollerton and Boughton's town clerk, said the revelations have been fascinating. | |
| She said: "One of our councillors has always said Ollerton is the centre of the universe so it looks like he was right!" |