Worried villagers say their ‘rural paradise’ is being destroyed by Britain’s green energy rollout after plans for a vast, nearby solar farm were approved.The project near Selby, North Yorkshire, would cover 1,175 hectares of agricultural land making it one of the largest of its kind in the UK and the equivalent of 1,645 football pitches.It was signed off by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband last month as part of the government’s drive to ramp up renewable energy.But neighbours say the Helios Solar Farm would devastate the village of Camblesforth – which already lives in the shadow of the huge Drax power station.

Families say they’ve suffered enough at the hands of green energy projects, with separate solar sites being built to the north and south of the village.Gill Lindridge, 58, argued the new solar farm would encroach right up to the fence where her family’s horses are kept in the field at the back of their three-bedroom property.She said the house – with 10 acres of land, shelters, and a garden annexe – could have been worth up to £1m before the plans emerged.Mrs Lindridge said: ‘We think it’s taken off £300,000 from the value. We wouldn’t be able to sell the house now and buy a new equestrian property.’Her daughter, Kate Joy, 30, said the village already lives with a vast energy project on its doorstep, with Drax power station’s huge cooling towers dominating the landscape.