A towering 60ft wind turbine could be installed outside a town council building to provide it with electricity.

North Hykeham Town Council is looking to build a £43,000, 18.3m-tall turbine to power its offices in Fen Lane.

It would produce up to 25,000kwh of electricity per year and wipe out the council's annual bills of £1,200.

It is also claimed that it could produce up to £4,000 worth of electricity a year – allowing the council to sell the surplus back to the National Grid.

If the scheme is a success the turbine could pay for itself within a decade.

Councillor Wallace Lee, who came up with the idea, said he would ideally like to see it built no taller than twice the height of the single-storey council building.

"But we will have to see if that will provide us with what we want – otherwise it may have to go higher," he said.

Coun Lee, who is chairman of the authority's environment committee, said the council had already heard a presentation from one energy company and will listen to another this month.

"There are no other properties within a 110 metre-radius," he said.

"I would certainly expect us to consult with nearby residents and invite them to a presentation before any decision is made.

"It's just at the very early planning stages and nothing can be decided before next June anyway."

Residents in the area have given the idea a lukewarm response.

Retired Norman Story (68), of Fen Lane, said: "It's good that the council is thinking of using green energy but you have to wait years before these things pay for themselves?"

For more on this story and more articles on the environment see Monday's Lincolnshire Echo.