Quake town recovering a week on

Danger signs and scaffolding can be seen across the quake-hit town

Families hit by the earthquake which damaged 1,500 Folkestone homes a week ago have been remembering the tremor.

The earthquake, originating in the sea, struck Kent at 0819 BST last Saturday.

Lester Clark, of Ferne Bank Crescent, told BBC Kent, which revisited the scene a week on, nobody knew what was happening because there was no power.

He said: "There was a big crash and a bang and the chimney stack fell. We found a portable radio, and at first we were told it was a big explosion."

The room filled with soot and dust Tommy Williams

Then it came through to residents that there had been an earthquake, he said.

Tommy Williams, of Canterbury Road, whose chimney also fell, said: "I was just sitting there reading a paper and all of a sudden the room filled with soot and dust - then there was a rumble and it all came down."

Builders and scaffolders who have been working on the hundreds of damaged homes across Folkestone for the past week have said there are "not enough hours in the day".

Scaffolder Graham Barker said: "We're starting early in the morning, we're doing a couple of hours extra at night, and last Monday we worked until you couldn't see any more."

Damage 'worth millions'

Four families are still in temporary council accommodation while others have been staying with friends and family.

Kathleen McInally, who has spent the past week living in a hotel room with her two children, said: "There are cracks all the way through the house - outside you notice the worst."

She added: "We're finding it a bit hard because I feel isolated down here - it's emotional and quite upsetting."

Several thousand homes across Folkestone and Dover lost electric supplies when the quake struck.

The 4.3 magnitude earthquake struck at 0819 BST on Saturday, with the epicentre 7.5 miles (12km) off the coast of Dover.

The shock was felt as far away as Essex, East Sussex and Suffolk.

Insurers have said the damage caused to homes and businesses will cost millions to repair.