Broken into pieces, with its ‘stump’ no higher than a tree, a giant wind turbine now lies in pieces in a German forest after collapsing.

The structure, whose rotor blades reach a height of 239 metres, toppled over only hours before it was due to be officially inaugurated.

Officials are investigating what caused the collapse. Police do not suspect sabotage.

The turbine, near the western town of Haltern, was connected to the power grid six months ago but was due to be officially launched on Thursday.

Like many countries, Germany is trying to increase its use of renewable energy such as wind and solar as part of a transition away from fossil fuels and nuclear power.

More than a quarter of its electricity is generated by wind power and the country has more than 26,000 wind turbines.