Pembrokeshire holiday village Bluestone has unveiled a ‘gastastic’ new way to carry guests from Ireland into the county.

The company has developed its own airship — the Bluestone Blimp — which will carry 50 guests at a time from Dublin Airport directly to the Bluestone site, near Narberth.

But rather than helium, the Bluestone Blimp will be powered by methane obtained from Pembrokeshire’s notoriously flatulent cows.

“I don’t know why nobody’s thought of this before,” said Professor Rolf Pailo, who has led the Bluestone blimp development programme.

“The process is relatively simple. When the cows are being milked, you just delicately insert another hose, through which the gas is extracted and gathered.

“It’s then stored in large, odour-proof canisters which go to our special on-site processing facility, where the gas is cryogenically distilled and treated to remove all its flammable qualities.

“Methane is considerably lighter than air so there’s plenty of lift, and the cows around here produce absolutely loads of it.”

Prof Pailo says the blimp is in keeping with Bluestone’s commitment to environmental responsibility in two specific ways.

“The blimp produces no carbon emissions, and as methane is a potent greenhouse gas, the more of it we can harness and stop escaping into the atmosphere, the better. It’s a double green whammy,” he added.

Local farmer Evan-Ellis Edwards-Evans said he was more than happy to sign his herd up to the scheme.

“They might as well make me some money by breaking wind rather than just letting them go in the milking parlour!” he said.

“It’s like a wind tunnel in there sometimes.”

But not everybody is so enthusiastic.

A spokesman for the Cows Of Wales Agricultural Services Society said: “Many people just think of cows as being milk producers or an animal to be eaten, but they do have feelings and this is a step too far.

“Cows, like all living things should be able to live, sleep and break wind in peace.”

Ten songs for the Bluestone Blimp: 1 . An Udder Day in Paradise (Phil Collins). 2. Ferry Cross the Jersey (Gerry Marsden). 3. Moo-ving on up (M People). 4.Tubtrumping (Chumbawamba). 5. Insane in the methane (Cyprus Hill). 6. Blowing in the wind (Bob Dylan). 7 . Classical Gas, (Mason Williams). 8. Never Mind the Bullocks (Sex Pistols). 9. Cattle Be The Day (Buddy Holly). 10. Total Air Trips of the fart (Bonnie Tyler).