A 3.9 magnitude tremor hit at around 6.50pm around 100 miles east of Scarborough. 

The British Geological Survey located in Glasidale around 10 miles east of Whitby picked up the tremor yesterday. 

A Survey spokeswoman said the cause of the tremor is yet to be confirmed. 

The largest quake recorded in the UK was 60 miles offshore near Dogger Bank in 1931, it had a magnitude of 6.1.

UK quakes are usually minor events. A magnitude 4 earthquake happens in Britain roughly every two years with magnitude 5 events occurring once every ten to twenty years.

A 3.9 magnitude earthquake hit Appin in southern New South Wales this morning, resulting in tremors across a 56km radius reaching Wollongong and Sydney.

The quake struck at 1.13am but did not cause any damage.

GeoScience seismologist Jonathan Bathgate told the ABC almost 100 residents reported being woken up by the shaking.

The Seismology Centre, which monitors earthquakes in Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland, said the quake was “very shallow, so may be felt up to 50km away”.