The shock of the tremor caused the bird to fall from his perch at around 1am.

Owner Geoff Wright, who lives in Fallow Hill, said: "I didn't feel the ground shake but it felt like someone was under my chair trying to lift me up and then the parrot fell of his perch which made us jump. He's okay though, he squawked this morning."

The 59-year-old was watching television with his niece at the time.

He added: "I knew what it was as I have felt them before. I imagine it would have scared a lot of people but I wasn't bothered.

"We thought it was an earthquake and shortly afterwards we got a call from my sister in Lincoln who asked if we had felt it. She said it had been really strong there."

Kenilworth resident Andy Webb told how his Rouncil Lane home shook for five to ten seconds "just before the end of watching Shameless" on television at around 1am.

He described the event as "unnerving" and said: "I was on the settee watching telly and the rest of the family were in bed. It felt like somebody had picked up the settee and shaken it."

The 46-year-old computer engineer added: "It is quite unnerving if you have never experienced it before."

The epicentre was near Market Rasen in Licolnshire but Warwickshire police received more than 260 calls between 1am and 1.30am from concerned residents, including some who believed homes were being broken into.

Some 23 of these calls were made to 999 operators. A spokesman said: "The majority of callers were phoning in due to concern at what they were experiencing and seeking reassurance."

There were no reports of damage or injury.

The main shaking, which was recorded at 12.56am, occurred at a depth of 9.6 miles into the ground and was the most significant since an earthquake hit north Wales in 1984. The tremor measured 5.3 on the Richter scale. By comparison, the Izmit earthquake, which struck Turkey in August 1999, measured 7.4 on the scale and is believed to have killed 45,000 people.

County council geologist Dr Jon Radley said: "This is a very exciting geological event, similar in its origin and magnitude to the 2000 and 2001 earthquakes that were felt in Warwickshire."