THE drinkers at the village pub probably thought they'd had one pint too many.

Villagers in Sandford on Thames watched in awe as three enormous metal screws, each weighing more than three African elephants, were this week lowered onto the village green.

The solid steel Archimedes screws, which weigh 22 tonnes each, were made in Hungary and transported more than 1,000 miles to sleepy Sandford.

On Wednesday a crowd of residents looked on astonished as the enormous devices were hauled into the village on the last stage of their journey.

There, they will form part of the £3.2m Sandford Hydro power plant being built by Oxford's Low Carbon Hub.

Operations director Adriano Figueiredo, who took the delivery on Wednesday, said: "There were a lot of excited kids and adults watching them being carried in on this massive truck.

"I think people were surprised to see just how big they were.

"We had people on the other side of the green watching pretty much all day – they were just mesmerised."

At the beginning of May the screws will be hauled up by crane again and gently lowered into the river.

They will then be floated up to their final resting place and installed at an angle in the Thames.

When the plant starts operating in July the giant gadgets will be turned by the sheer force of the river, generating enough electricity – 440kWp – to power an average of 450 homes.

The hub has already raised the £3.2m it need to build the plant – a £2m loan from the Charity Bank and the other £1.2m in community share offers.

But it has now re-opened the community share offer in order to repay some of its debt.

Anyone who buys shares in the project, which start at £250, will get a regular dividend on their investment, and eventually get their original contribution back as well.

Mr Figueiredo said: "Entry level investments are just £250 to give as many people as possible a chance to own part of the project and share in the surplus revenue.

"Every investment is also a clear message that we support clean, community-owned energy in Oxfordshire."

He added: "It's been a long labour of love from the local community, and now we're helping them see their vision through to the end."

Find out more at Look out for regular updates at lowcarbonhub.org