A RURAL campaign group is urging people to fight plans for two massive wind farms proposed for the open countryside.

A total of 34 giant wind turbines are on the cards for land off the A31 near Bere Regis.

Bournemouth-based Your Energy has just submitted an application to North Dorset District Council for nine of the modern-day windmills at Winterborne Zelston and National Wind Power has earmarked a parcel of land north of Winterborne Kingston for another batch.

But now Dorset Against Rural Turbines - DART - has launched a campaign calling on families living nearby to oppose the development.

Jo Davis, secretary of DART, said the first application for nine turbines would have an adverse effect on the character and appearance of the area and would go against the local plan.

She said: "These wind turbines will be a visual distraction from the A31 which already has a history of fatal accidents. The noise will be significant and the wind turbines will have an adverse effect on the local tourist industry.

"We understand that an overall policy for the development of renewable energy sources in Dorset is in course of preparation. It would be premature to approve the present application in advance of that policy."

She said a decision should be delayed because current Government thinking on wind turbines is to site them offshore and added the proposal should not be considered until the impact of the national policy has been properly evaluated.

"As far as we are aware this is the first proposal to introduce a major wind farm into a well-inhabited area of lowland England. It represents a new departure in the form of development and poses serious questions of a very wide significance."

Comments on the proposal can be sent to North Dorset District Council, Nordon, Salisbury Road, Blandford, Dorset, DT11 7LL.