Agriculture South West's Most Dangerous Industry

Despite the South West’s Wurzel tractor driving image, agriculture remains one of the South West’s most dangerous industries.

New agricultural statistics published today by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that in 2007-2008 eight workers died, and 291 suffered a major accident.

Another 410 accidents required more than three days off work.

In 2007/08 across the country, 39 workers died bringing the ten-year total death toll to 455. Alarmingly, year on year, over the last ten years the number of deaths in agriculture has remained at a consistently high level.

Of all the working population less than 1.5 per cent is employed in agriculture. This tiny number is responsible for between 15 and 20 per cent of fatalities to workers in Great Britain each year.

Non-executive HSE Board member and agriculture champion, Judith Donovan, said: “It is simply unacceptable that, almost every week, someone dies in a needless farm accident. These accidents don’t just destroy lives, they destroy whole families, and often their farms too. They continue to happen year after year after year and for this reason HSE is launching a new campaign in January 2009 to help encourage farmers to take extra care to stay safe.

 “The latest statistics highlight that farming is dangerous and now in these difficult financial times, farmers might be tempted to take risks to save money by cutting back on help or taking shortcuts. We want to make farmers, their families and their helpers to stop and think how they can be aware of the dangers around them,”