Earth tremor hits southeast England

FOLKESTONE, England, Apr 28 (Reuters) An earth tremor hit southeast England today, police said, bringing down power lines and damaging some buildings in the Folkestone area of Kent.

The US Geological Survey, which measures seismic activity, said the tremor had a magnitude of 4.7.

''It looks like there has been a small earth tremor,'' a Kent police spokeswoman said. ''Electricity is down in certain areas as are some telephone lines.'' Local residents called television stations to report feeling the ground shake, cracks in homes and chimneys brought down.

Eurostar said the Channel Tunnel was operating normally.

REUTERS SM RK1446