WIND turbines are the new plague set to sweep across our rural landscape.

If we are not careful, great swathes of countryside, including open views enjoyed by householders, ramblers, horse riders and cyclists, will be ruined forever.

Residents in Levington are livid over proposals for two of these green electricity generating machines earmarked for a riverside valley and plans for one on the edge of Felixstowe has led to objections, too.

These turbines would stand on officially designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

Government is driving this initiative, with stern advice that wind power is the future and its targets have to be met.

Potentially, there could be hundreds of these turbines littering our landscape.

Albert Scardino, who has applied for the turbines on his Levington estate, told me: “A report commissioned by Suffolk Coastal in 2010 suggests that more than 2,300 could be appropriately sited in the district council boundaries, many of them within or adjacent to the AONB.”

In fact, I understand the report suggested the Kingsfleet Marshes, right in the middle of the AONB and one of the most unspoilt areas of the peninsula, was thought suitable as the site for a full-scale wind farm.

There is no way I would want to see the countryside inundated with turbines, but they can be a graceful, unobtrusive addition to the landscape in certain places – it is just essential that the sensitivity of the siting is fully taken into account.

They must not be allowed to scar our national parks and AONBs, and preferably should be put offshore.

Instead of white, perhaps they would blend in more if painted green – a clever scientist needs to find a way to make them invisible, made of some clear, see-through non-reflective material.

Councillor Andy Smith believes the turbines are “a waste of space” and in engineering terms do not produce enough electricity – certainly not consistently, relying on the vagaries of the wind.

It would be better if the scientists turned their attention to wave power – at least there would be a consistent source of energy as the tide has to come in and out every day.