“UFO hits wind turbine”, The Sun newspaper reported on Thursday, claiming that a 65ft blade had been torn off a wind turbine in Conisholme, Lincolnshire, after being hit by an unidentified flying object.

Dorothy Willows, a local resident, was said to be among dozens who spotted “mysterious orangey-yellow spheres” in the sky, just hours before the blade dropped off at about 4am on Sunday.