08 Jan 2009
A WIND turbine stood wrecked yesterday with one of its giant 65ft blades torn off — after it was hit by a UFO.

Locals were woken by the 4am smash after strange lights were spotted streaking towards the 290ft-tall generator on a wind farm.
Baffled power chiefs said of the smash in Conisholme, Lincs: “We have a team investigating.” There was no trace of the missing blade. A UFO expert said: “We are very excited.” A woman motorist told how she saw a UFO zoom towards the wind farm and strike the 290ft turbine.

Dorothy Willows — who lives half a mile from the scene of the hit-and-run — was in her car when “strange lights” loomed in the evening sky.

Dorothy said: “My husband Stephen was woken at 4am by the bang.”

Afterwards there was no trace of one of the turbine’s three huge 65ft blades — ripped off in the collision.

Another was left twisted and useless. Other locals told how the lights looked like balls of flames. Lesley Whittingham, 71, even managed to photograph it — and said: “It looked like a giant explosion in the air.”


and now

Speculation over what caused the mysterious destruction of a giant wind turbine in northern England - with everything from UFOs to the freezing winter weather taking the blame - was put to rest, after the culprit was found to be a mundane broken bolt.

Residents of Conisholme in Lincolnshire, last month, discovered that a 21.9-metre long metal blade was torn off a turbine at their local wind farm while another was badly damaged.

Some even reported seeing strange lights streaking towards the wind farm, prompting conjecture of a UFO collision with one of the 213-foot tall turbines.

It was unclear exactly when the crash would have occurred.

Local councillor and turkey farmer Robert Palmer said he saw a bright white light with an orange edge as he drove close to the turbine on Sunday morning .

The turbine manufacturer Enercon, however published preliminary results of its investigation on Tuesday saying that a broken bolt was responsible for the mishap.

The firm said that the bolts securing the blade to the turbine's hub "exhibited classic signs of fatigue failure".

What do you think? Aliens or the wrong bolts you decide