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Sarah Jackson cleans up the mess. Pictures by Andy Lambert
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Bricks fall from buildings as quake strikes
27/ 2/2008
BUILDING bricks crashed down on a shop front pavement in North Reddish last night as the largest earthquake to hit England in 25 years rocked Stockport.
The bricks were dislodged when a chimney stack above the Whitch's Way shop on Gorton Road collapsed, during the 5.2 magnitude quake.
No one was hurt in the incident and residents living in flats above the shop remained in their home over night. However, building inspectors were scheduled to carry out a review of the building at 9am this morning.
Annie Burtle, whose grandmother owns the shop, lives metres away above another. She said: “It’s a big old chimney, about two metres high. The whole building shook and the corner of the fire escape fell down too.
“We’re quite close-knit here so I rushed out to see if everyone was okay and then I phoned grandma, who lives in Bridgehall - it was just hitting her then."
Annie, 20, added: “It was pretty scary - I don’t like new experiences when I’m not expecting them.”
Neighbour Debbie Cull, 42, lives with husband Matthew and two teenage sons.
“My boys were petrified,” she said.
“It was really frightening - a nightmare. There was debris everywhere.”
Emergency call services were put on red alert as 999 operators were swamped with calls following the 10-second quake, which hit Lincolnshire at 12.56am. Some callers were left waiting 15 minutes as operators across the country struggled to cope.
Watch Commander Trevor Birkmyre, at Stockport Fire Safety, said: “We received several calls from people who were shook up and wanting to know what was happening. We just advised people that there had been an earthquake, gave most of them some advice and left it there. We would only go out to them if there was a life threatening situation.”
Kevin Allcock, 41, from Stockport was working a nightshift at the Stockport Express with more than ten others.
He said: "There was a loud rumble and then the whole building started moving. I was sitting on a chair with wheels and it just rolled all over the place. My computer was shaking.
"We had no idea what was going on. We're near the Manchester Airport flight path so at first we thought it was a plane crash or a bomb. It felt so dramatic.
"My mobile phone has not stopped ringing since it happened. Friends from all over have told me how everyone was out on the streets wondering what was going on."
Although some people were distressed by the quake, others were thrilled. Paul Roberts, of Shepley Close, Hazel Grove, emailed: “I woke to the sounds of my wife Kim shouting my name and the bed was shaking. Under normal circumstances that would have been ok, but the walls were shaking and there was a deep rumbling noise!
“Our youngest son said he was woken by some thunder in the night and his bed was all wobbly.
“I thought it was fantastic and hope the next one happens during the day!”
Click on the video window for Channel M's report ...
Did you feel the quake? Click on 'Submit comments' and share your experiences.
Most recent 2 of 5 user comments
4/03/2008 at 20:22
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At least he didn't joke about the Pounds worth of improvements caused by the event; like I did over the Dudley one 6 years ago! Not me but look at http://www.kryogenix.org/writings/earthquake.cas
Humour is so often a good way of coping with crappy times.
7/03/2008 at 20:39