A minor earthquake has been felt by a number of homes, police said today.

Concerned residents in south Wales contacted the police shortly before 9pm last night after experiencing lights flickering and a tremor.

The British Geological Survey later confirmed there had been an earthquake with a magnitude of three with an epicentre just over six miles north east of Port Talbot.

A spokeswoman for South Wales Police said: "We had three reports yesterday evening. Members of the public from the Wild Mill and Sarn area of Bridgend reported feeling a tremor.

"The British Geological Survey confirmed an earthquake had occurred 10km northeast of Port Talbot with a magnitude of three."

She added: "There were no reports of damage or injuries."

A spokeswoman for the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said they were informed about the earthquake by police but were not called out to assist any residents.

Cleaner Michelle Thomas said it was not the first earthquake the area has had this month.

The 36-year-old from Bryncethin, Bridgend, claims to have felt two other quakes earlier this month.

"Last night it was just a little tremor and a light flicker," she said.

"It happened last week and the week before that so we have had three in the last month.

"I'm not bothered by it because I've been to Turkey and on the outskirts of earthquakes there. These ones are just little tremors."

On the earthquake section of their website, the British Geological Survey said they had a report from one local resident describing "the whole house creaked and it felt like it moved".

Another told them "the experience felt like a car had collided with the house".

The website added: "This is the largest event to occur in this area since a magnitude 3.8 earthquake on 23 May 1975, approximately 7km (4.3 miles) southwest of Merthyr Tydfil.

"Historically, however, larger earthquakes, with magnitudes ranging from 4.9 to 5.2, have been known to occur to the west of this event, the last and largest of these being a magnitude 5.2 that occurred in 1906 close to Port Talbot.

"Known as the Swansea earthquake, this was one of the most damaging earthquakes in Britain in the whole of the 20th century."