Organisers have claimed that the UK's first ever national gathering of wind farm protest groups, held yesterday in Saddleworth, has been an outstanding success far exceeding their expectations. Over 200 people attended the conference addressed by David Bellamy, Sir Bernard Ingham and internationally respected scientists such as Dr Richard Courtney.

' This conference represents the start of a national movement dedicated to protecting some of our most precious landscapes from the environmental vandalism caused by Giant wind turbines. Until now groups like ours have been fighting largely in isolation. Concern individuals taking on the might of the huge Utility Companies and the vast resources of the Wind Industry Lobby. All that is changing.

Over 50 protest groups were represented, from the Isle of Skye to the Isle of Wight from Romney Marsh to Dumfies, Cumbria to Somerset, Fenland to Wales. All of us are determined to pool our efforts and resources and to make politicians of all parties at local and national level take notice. Our aim is to put the issue of Britains serious flawed Energy Policy with its potentially disastrous 'Dash for Wind' high on the agenda at the next general election.

Opening the conference, David Bellamy condemned the 'Lies, damned lies and Wind Farms which tried to pass off Wind Turbines as Green Energy. Dr Bellamy said it was wrong to call them wind farms. They were wind factories causing High rise industrialisation of the landscape. He launched a scathing attack on Tony Blair asking.

' Why if New Labour really believes in carbon induced global warning are they financing the construction of coal fired power stations in the third world ?

Why doesn't he reward the millions of householders who have made their homes more energy efficient rather than subsidise Denmark to build highly inefficient wind factories

Closing the conference Sir Bernard Ingham a former official at the Department of Energy responsible for energy conservation policy and renewable sources of energy working for the then Energy minister Tony Benn, said that the traditional objective of British Energy policy 'was to ensure security of supply at affordable cost. In short to maintain Britain's competitiveness.'

He said that the current government's Energy policy was ' irresponsible and a threat to the lifestyles livelihoods and jobs of every citizen. In the short medium and longer term we face the risk of power cuts leading to immense economic damage.' The Government was replacing a sensible mix of energy sources - coal, oil, gas, nuclear providing many alternative sources of energy that proved to be economic, reliable continuous and did not cause massive environmental damage with a irresponsible policy that relied on Wind Energy and vast imports of gas from politically unstable parts of the world such as Russia, the Middle East and Algeria at a price that seemed only likely to rise.

A wide range of activities are now being planned by Wind Farm protest groups between now and the General Election to get these issues of the national political agenda