Anti-windfarm protesters made exaggerated claims concerning the impact of wind turbines on house prices in the Lake District said the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The claim was made in campaign material distributed by the No Whinash Windfarm group after a couple who sold a house in the shadow of a wind turbine were ordered to pay £12,500 plus interest in compensation for an estimated 20% drop in the property value.

The previous owners had omitted to tell the buyers that they had protested about the possible turbine installation and in court, Judge Buckley decided that this amounted to “material misrepresentation” and ordered the compensation payment because of damage to visual amenity, noise pollution and an irritating flickering caused by the sun going down behind the moving blades of the turbines half a kilometre away from the house.

The No Whinash Windfarm group appear to have used this evidence in designing their campaign but according to the ASA, made the "absolute" claims that tourism would be adversely affected, jobs lost and property prices damaged.

In all there were six separate complaints against the protesters all of which were upheld by the ASA. On the issue of property prices the Authority considered that, although the advertisers had shown that wind farms could affect the value or saleability of properties, the claims "The proposed windfarm will seriously affect the amenity of everyone living in the area" and the absolute claim "the value and saleability of their properties will be diminished" exaggerated the proven effect of the proposed wind farm. It asked the advertisers to amend the claim.

The No Whinash Windfarm group are protesting about a proposal for large farm of 27 turbines each over 115 metres tall, which because of the size of the proposal, will not go through the normal local planning process. Instead the application was submitted to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry so in effect, say the group, just one man - Brian Wilson, minister for energy (and zealot for wind power) - will decide on the project.