When a 213ft wind turbine was damaged in Lincolnshire recently, locals naturally assumed that aliens had done it.

One blade had been completely severed in the incident, and another was damaged, and since nobody could immediately explain what happened interference by ET seemed about as good an explanation as any.

Adding still further to the 'mystery', local residents reported seeing bright lights and other vaguely UFO-ish phenomena in the sky on the morning that it happened.

But now a know-it-all wind turbine manufacturer has gone and spoiled the fun by revealing that this type of incident is not rare at all, and was probably caused by a mechanical failure.

Fraser McLachlan, who is chief executive of GCube, who insure 25,000 wind turbines, said it happens 5 to 6 times a year.

"It does happen that a blade will sometimes just come off a machine for one reason or another," he told London's Metro newspaper. "The main reason is the blade may shear." He added, helpfully, that he doesn't "normally see things like aircraft - or UFOs - hitting them. It's usually a mechanical failure that causes the blade to separate from the main hub."

Some are still not convinced. Council members in the area still want to investigate what happened, including Robert Palmer, a local turkey farmer. "If we are being looked at by other people, by other planets, it would be interesting to find out why they have chosen this part of the country," he said.

Indeed it would. We're betting they were attracted by the sausages -- but if you have any better ideas, let us know in the comments