Police evacuated residents and tourists from houses at the foot of a volcano on Spain’s Canary Islands after a growing series of earthquakes raised fears of an eruption, officials and locals said yesterday.

With the Pico de Malpaso mountain spitting rocks intermittently and a growing rumbling underground, authorities made emergency preparations in case the volcano blows its top on the Atlantic island of El Hierro.

“I have never felt shaking like it,” said Herminio Barrera, 25, a mechanic in the town of La Frontera. “I notice it especially at night. We can also hear a rumbling and sounds from deep down.”

A municipal official who asked not to be named said that 53 residents and tourists had been evacuated to protect them from the occasional flying volcanic rock and the defence ministry said it was preparing emergency shelter for 2,000 people.

“I am staying calm but there are people who are more worried, particularly those with children,” Mr Barrera said. “We are very close to the mountain. My father-in-law left yesterday.”