A Tory ex-minister who lives in the shadow of a proposed new wind farm in North Lancashire urged Parliament to set strict new limits to the location of such developments.

But his plea was rebuffed, on "localism" grounds, by local government minister Baroness Hanham.

Lord Reay, whose principal residence is in the North West, dismissed wind power as "a pointless gesture towards an economically crippling "green" ideology".

Opening second reading debate on his Wind Turbines (Minimum Distance from Residential Premises) Bill, Lord Reay called for minimum distances ranging from one to three kilometres, depending on the height of the turbines.

The former Euro-MP and hereditary peer, whose Scottish title dates from 1628, explained that he lived within 1.5 kilometres of a proposed wind farm, which would be "disallowed" by his Bill.

Lord Reay, who declares "residential interests" in north Lancashire as well as farmland and residential property in Devon, did not identify the location of the proposal, which was still at the "pre-planning application" stage.

The proposal, he said, involved 110-metre high turbines - the largest twice as high as Big Ben - within two kilometres of his own and some 600 other homes.

He spoke of wind farms' "propensity for making life a misery for those unlucky enough to find themselves forced to live within their shadow".

Lord Reay told of their "rhythmic pulsing quality with at times a vibrating effect".

He said: "It can, quite obviously, seriously damage people's health." They could also reduce house values by about a third.

He told peers: "To leave it to the developer to interpret what (distance) is appropriate is like leaving it to the motorist to decide what is an appropriate speed limit to observe."