Cameron's home turbine energy plan puts the wind up neighbours

His first one lasted only a week before a gale of criticism forced him to take it down.

But, undaunted, David Cameron is to re-install a wind turbine on the roof of his house.

Mr Cameron first placed the turbine on top of his £1million five-bedroom home in Kensington in 2006.

Locals derided it as an eyesore while environmental groups dismissed it as a gimmick.

To make matters worse, the turbine had been placed on a different wall from the one he had permission for, and Kensington and Chelsea Council told him to remove it.

Now Mr Cameron has submitted a fresh planning application for the £3,000 turbine.

His neighbour Barbara Want, 47, is leading the fight against it.

"It will be an awful eyesore in a conservation area and it is a false attempt to show he is environmentally friendly," said Miss Want, widow of the late Radio 4 World at One presenter Nick Clarke.

The StealthGen turbine, which provides enough electricity to power a colour TV, could take as long as 40 years to pay for itself.

But Mr Cameron has said that, in the fight against climate change, "politicians must practise what we preach".