AN earthquake has hit the region this morning.

At 5.58am people across Teesside were startled by a swift rumbling noise, lasting a matter of seconds.

The 2.8 magnitude quake hit near Alberto Street in Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham at around 5.56am on Thursday, according to the United States Geological Survey.

On the Richter scale, an earthquake of that size is likely to be felt by some people, but is unlikely to cause damage to any buildings.

On social media, users claiming to be in the area reacted to the tremor.

One person said that their house was shaken by the incident, adding that it was "bad enough enough to wake us up".

The United States Geological Survey said that 139 reports on the shake had been received from the public.