Mount Pleasant windmill damaged by 'exceptional' winds Published duration 30 November 2015

image caption The windmill's owner Mervin Austin said he was devastated by the damage caused

It might be designed to harness the power of the wind, but "exceptional" gusts at the weekend left this historic windmill in tatters.

Two of the sails of Mount Pleasant windmill in Lincolnshire were torn to shreds by gales on Sunday.

The winds also blew away the fan tail and sheared off wrought iron fittings.

It is not the first time a mill on the site has succumbed to stormy weather - it was built in 1875 to replace one blown down two years earlier.

The windmill, at Kirton-in-Lindsey, was restored in 1991 and organic flour is still milled there.

But owner Mervin Austin said he had been forced to completely close the site - including the nearby tea rooms - following the storm.

image caption Wood from the windmill was blown to the ground with some ending up 200 yards away in an adjacent field

"It has devastated us unfortunately," he said.

"The fan tail is hanging on by a thread and it is too dangerous to let anyone on site until we get it sorted out."

"[The wind] got behind it and snapped the iron cross in the centre, which means the top two sails crashed to the ground," he added.

"It has destroyed the fan tail at the back and two of the pieces of that have landed 200 yards away in the field opposite."

Mr Austin said he was told wind speeds at nearby RAF Scampton hit 50 mph (80 km/h) but he believed the "furious" squall that hit his windmill was travelling much faster.