Village woken as 300-foot wind turbine crashes down on valleys mountainside near Gilfach Goch
A 300-foot wind turbine has crashed down on a valleys mountainside after it collapsed in high winds.
Villagers in Gilfach Goch were woken at around 6:50am on Monday (February 12) as the multi-million pound turbine snapped apart.
The 10-turbine Pant y Wal wind farm opened in 2013 and creates enough energy to power 18,000 homes.
Despite no reports of injures in the incident, nearby residents have called on officials to check neighbouring turbines.
Lydia Stephens wrote: "A wind turbine fell over in the wind farm on my village this morning and I thought it was thunder and lighting but how the hell does a wind turbine fall over?
"Apparently it was creaking and banging all night before it collapsed and one woman thought it was her neighbour's tumble dryer."
Labour councillor Aurfron Roberts called on wind farm owners to carry out further checks on turbines.
She said: "We have had some extreme weather here lately - some very strong winds and gales.
"It's a surprise because they are well maintained - there are always maintenance vehicles up there checking the turbines all through the night.
"The whole village is surrounded by turbines, we have so many projects going on on the hills around her. I'm just glad they are up on the hillside and away from people in case something like this happens.
A spokeswoman for wind turbine manufacturers Nordex said: "Unfortunately an incident occurred at the Pant Y Wal wind farm in Wales. On Monday, a N90/2500 turbine collapsed. No persons were injured. The only material damage that has occurred as a result of the incident is to the turbine itself.
"All necessary safety measures have been implemented immediately after the incident.
"A team of local Nordex specialists with experts from Nordex main office are currently investigating the root cause of the incident together with the wind farm owner. As yet, no reliable statement can be made as to the underlying cause of the collapse."
A Met Office yellow wind warning for the whole of Wales has been issued for midnight on Thursday until 9pm on Friday, and says: "Extremely strong winds may develop over southwest England early on Friday, before spreading north and east during the morning.
"It is not yet clear where within the warning area the strongest winds will be but gusts of 60-70 mph are possible over a reasonably large area with a small chance of a brief period of gusts reaching 80mph even inland. Coastal winds are likely to be the strongest."In addition to the wind, there is the potential for a period of snow and perhaps blizzard conditions, most likely over northern England, parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and north Wales. However, this is very dependant on the track of the weather system and most places will see heavy rain instead."