IT was second time lucky for a West Devon campaign group last weekend, which is fighting possible plans to site a wind farm in their area.

With perfect weather conditions, the Chilla Against Turbines (CAT) committee launched their 'blimp' balloon on Sunday, to demonstrate how high 410 feet (125m) is. This is how high the 15 turbines included in a proposal by Scottish Power would stand on rural land at Chilla Valley Moor.

Crowds of people turned up to support the event at Windrift Farm, Beara Cross to see the spectacle, a repeat of a balloon demonstration affected by bad weather the previous week.

Along with photos from the immediate vicinity, people submitted pictures to the campaign group from as far as six kilometres away, who could also clearly see the blimp.

Roy Houghton, CAT chairman, said: 'The fact that the balloon itself was only 20 feet long but could still be seen from such distances only goes to prove that the blades, which are equivalent to the span of a jumbo jet, and structures will dominate the landscape from far and wide.

'While we were unable to demonstrate the huge span of the blades, the damage that will inevitably be caused by up to 20m deep concrete footings the size of half a football pitch each, the motorway sized access site road that will need to be built, plus the substation and pylons that will further blight the landscape, at least we alerted people in the vicinity to the visual impact regarding height.'

Geoff and Wendy Bowden, who live at Windrift Farm said: 'We are devastated by the proposal to build an industrial wind farm installation on our doorstep.

'While we appreciate the need for alternative energy sources, wind turbines should be erected on suitable sites and not in such close proximity to residential dwellings.

'The nearest property is only 513m from a turbine, despite Scottish Power recommending that it be at least one kilometre away.'

Scottish Power is still investigating the Chilla Moor site to see how feasible the area would be for a wind farm.

The company is looking into site accessibility, wind strength and speeds and infrastructure in the area.

A spokesman said any possible development was still 'years away'.