An investigation was under way today into how a 65ft blade was mysteriously torn off a wind turbine amid reports of “strange lights” in the sky.

The 300ft turbine at Conisholme in Lincolnshire was left wrecked after the incident. The Sun quoted residents speculating that the damage could have been caused by a UFO.

Ecotricity, the company which operates the turbine, said it was investigating the unprecedented incident. A spokeswoman said: “We’re conducting a thorough investigation into what happened. This kind of thing has never happened to us before.”

The missing blade was found on the ground beneath the turbine, she said, adding that the company could not speculate on the cause of the damage. “An engineer has been on the site since it happened, early on Sunday morning, and is carrying out a sort of forensic investigation.”

Times Archive, 1968: Ministry rejects UFO reports

Ministry of Defence scientists have concluded that UFOs have not visited the earth, in spite of the many sightings reported in Britain last autumn

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The Sun said flashing orange-yellow spheres had been seen by dozens of people in the area, including by Dorothy Willows, who lives half a mile from the scene of the incident. Ms Willows was in her car when she saw the lights.

"She said: "The lights were moving across the sky towards the wind farm. Then I saw a low flying object. It was skimming across the sky towards the turbines."

The blade was ripped off hours later, at 4am.

The Ministry of Defence said it was not looking into the incident. A spokesman said: “The MoD examines reports solely to establish whether UK airspace may have been compromised by hostile or unauthorised military activity. Unless there’s evidence of a potential threat, there’s no attempt to identify the nature of each sighting reported.”

But Nick Pope, a UFO-watcher who used to work for the MOD, called for an investigation. "There's a public safety issue here, whatever you believe about UFOs. The Ministry of Defence's standard line on UFOs isn't good enough. The MOD and the Civil Aviation Authority need to investigate as a matter of urgency."

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