A pensioner says fitters told him they could not put up a wind turbine he had paid £1,400 for because his house faced in the wrong direction.

Dino Reardon, 75, bought the machine from B&Q at Keighley.

But when fitters arrived nine days later and saw his hilltop home in Skipton was not positioned south-west, they said it could not be fitted and they were not authorised to give him his money back.

Now, almost a month later, B&Q have now agreed to refund Mr Reardon's money, and say the reason the turbine could not be erected was because he had not obtained planning permission.

Mr Reardon, who lives in The Grove, said he was unaware he needed planning permission and B&Q's leaflet had led him to believe that was not be the case.

He accused the DIY chain of misleading customers in its campaign to get them to buy wind turbines with "false and confusing" information.

He said he took the company at its word that the turbine should fit anywhere and planning permission was unlikely to be needed.

But Craven Council requires all turbines to have planning permission.

The first time Mr Reardon knew the machine would not be suitable was when the official fitters, Windsave, arrived on November 17, nine days after he had bought the machine.

Mr Reardon said: "What B&Q are saying seems to be false. They said we would get our money back if not satisfied - we haven't, they said we didn't have to be on a windy hillside - now it seems we have to be, and they said we wouldn't need planning permission- and we do.

"I can't see any reason it has taken so long to refund my money."

The DIY giant has published a leaflet Energy Efficiency Made Easy at B&Q'. It includes the information that in "general terms, fitting a turbine is similar to fitting a satellite dish. Unless you live in a conservation area or a listed property, it is unlikely you'll need planning permission".

It also stresses it is not necessary to live on a windy hillside, and if a property is not suitable, there will be a full refund.

A Craven District Council spokesman said wind turbines did need planning permission. She said: "At present, they are more likely to need planning permission than not. There has been an escalation in inquiries about wind turbines over the last month and we are telling people that generally they would need planning permission."

A B&Q spokesman said a cheque for the cost of the wind turbine and a goodwill gesture were now in the post to Mr Reardon.

"It was not possible to install Mr Reardon's wind turbine because he had not sought the appropriate planning permission," he said.

He said the company would urge people thinking of buying a wind turbine to discuss planning permission with their local council before making their purchase.

e-mail: clive.white@bradford.newsquest.co.uk