Repair work after wind farm blow

The incident left one of the turbine blades shattered

Work has started on rebuilding a wind turbine which was damaged in April when one of its three blades snapped and fell to the ground during strong winds.

An investigation of the cause of the failure at the Crystal Rig complex in the north east Borders, Scotland's most powerful, has still to be completed.

The wind turbine, one of 31 on the site in the Lammermuir Hills, has been dismantled since the incident.

Operators said they hoped that it would be generating again by August.

The unit's original suppliers are carrying out the inquiry, though the Crystal Rig spokesman added that the conclusions would be analysed by an independent expert.

The research group, Scottish Wind Assessment Project (Swap), said it highlighted safety implications of blades becoming detached at high speed.

If you were the person who was underneath it when it happened you wouldn't care less how rare it was David Bruce Swap

Swap said the incident raised real questions about the possible siting of turbines near houses and public roads.

Spokesman said David Bruce the blade "literally flew apart" in recent high winds.

The 2.5MW turbines were installed in August 2004 and can produce power for 33,000 homes.

They are operated on behalf of Fred Olsen Renewables and Natural Power Consultants Ltd.

A member of the public who observed the turbines said: "In the gales I noticed that all bar one were motionless. The remaining one was going berserk."

Mr Bruce said: "This is not something that happens every day but these blades weigh several tonnes.

"If you were the person who was underneath it when it happened you wouldn't care less how rare it was."