'Stay safe, stay away from construction sites', HSE tells children

HSE Press Release E137:02 - 17 July 2002

A new children's booklet, aimed at raising awareness about the dangers of playing on and around construction sites has been published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Aimed at seven-to eleven-year-olds, Stay Safe, Building Site Safety, features a cartoon character called Digger, who guides the reader around a variety of games, puzzles and comic strips to encourage children to think about the hazards that exist on building sites. The book examines different types of building site situations from new builds to demolition sites.

It also contains a pull out poster of a building site with hazards and asks children to spot them by putting stickers in the correct places.

Many children view construction sites as playgrounds and think they are fun and safe places to play. However they are far from fun and safe, 16 children were killed in construction related incidents over the last 10 years, and 802 were injured.

This booklet is designed to change attitudes and bring home to children the message that they should never go on a building site.

The interactive magazine is designed to be a fun way of learning about the dangers that exist on construction sites. It covers such issues as large vehicles coming and going from sites; scaffolding; building materials such as bricks, pipes and sand; and heavy machinery, all of which can be extremely dangerous.

Mike Cosman, head of HSE's Construction Sector, said

"Building sites act like a magnet to children who don't understand the dangers they present. It is not enough to say 'No'. Children need to have the risks explained to them in a way they can relate to.

"This resource pack should be worked through with parents or teachers, who can supplement the core message with their own experience. We hope that by making this pack fun, it will hold children's attention and teach them important, life saving messages."

80,000 copies of the booklet have been printed and will be distributed by HSE's Workplace Contact Officers (WCO) during their visits to schools and a variety of other events they are involved in, in which they meet children and other child safety campaigners.

The Magazine can be downloaded free of charge from the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/misc447.pdf and the poster can also be downloaded at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/misc447poster.pdf

Notes to editors

1. Examples of children who died in construction related incidents:

In January 2000 a 12 year-old boy died when he fell from the fourth lift of a five lift external scaffold on a building project on which he and a group of other boys were playing.

In August 1999 two children died as a result of running under a 32 tonne 12-wheel lorry, which was slowly being driven away from the site of a refurbishment of a shopping area. The resulting investigation indicated that the children may have run under the lorry as part of a game of hide and seek.

2. Injuries to non-employed children (aged 1 to 15) in the Construction sector 1990/91 to 2000/01

3. Injuries to children (aged 1 to 15) by region in construction as reported to HSE's Field Operations Directorate who enforce Health & Safety in the construction industry - 2000/01

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