Earthquake shakes homes on west coast of Scotland

An 2.9 magnitude earthquake in a remote part of Lochaber has been felt and heard across parts of western Scotland.

The epicentre was in Kinloch about 30km (19 miles) north west of Oban.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) recorded the tremor just before 20:45 on Sunday.

It was felt in Strontian and across to the island of Mull, Oban and surrounding villages, but was not powerful enough to cause damage.

Reports about the tremors were sent to BGS from people mostly within a 40km (25 mile) radius of the epicentre.

One person described how the "ground and the wall I was leaning against shook for about three seconds".

Another reported that it "felt like a tank was passing the house", and another said "there was a very loud bang and rumbling".

Mary MacPhail, who runs a B&B near Strontian, told BBC Scotland she was having Sunday dinner when she heard a "rumbling noise" through triple glazed windows.

"I initially thought it was maybe a plane going over," she said. "We do get low flying planes sometimes."

"The house didn't shake, it was just a noise - a very loud rumbling."

BGS detects about 300 quakes every year in the UK. Only about 30 of these events are felt by people or are heard as a deep rumbling sound or a loud bang.

Induced seismic events, those caused by human activity such as sonic booms, are also recorded.

In June last year, thousands of fans at Taylor Swift concerts in Edinburgh's Murrayfield stadium triggered the monitoring devices with their dancing.