Multiple struck Scotland earlier today after "loud bangs" shook homes and woke up residents following terrifying .

The first took place just after at 3.03am and hit 2.2 on the Richter scale - the scale used to measure the strength of seismic events. Further tremors took place at 8.09am and 8.27am. The incidents all took place in Argyll and Bute. And locals in the seaside town of Oban and surrounding areas were woken from their sleep by the resulting "loud bangs", which they heard at around 3.03am.

The first tremor took place three miles off the coast of Oban, and dozens of locals took to social media to reveal their experience of the seismic activity. The second quakes were measured at 1.6 and 0.5 on the Richter scale, reported.

The quake was felt on the Isle of Kerrera, which is around a mile from Oban, and as far away as the Isles of Seil and Mull and village of Kilchrenan, which are all around 10 miles from the town, in opposite directions.

One said: "Did anyone else just hear/feel a rumble? About 3am." One person replied: "House shook and then I heard rumble noise. 3.03." Another said: "Yes, Longsdale Road 3.03am. loud rumble and house was creaking."

Another added: "I didn’t, but the dog woke me up whining just after 3 so he probably did! And I heard a boom around 8am." While a fifth said: "Yip. Woke me back of 3am here on the Isle of Seil - lasted good few seconds.

Another wrote: "Yes on mull." A ninth posted: "Yip, house shook at 0304, woke me up." A tenth said: "Yes also felt and heard on Kerrera around 3am." And an eleventh added: "Yes heard it but didn’t feel anything."

Callum Harrison, seismologist at the British Geological Survey, said: "At 3.03am on Wednesday, February 5 there was a 2.2 magnitude earthquake 5km east of Oban, within the Argyll and Bute area of ."