Safety event for south east farmers to help reduce death and injury

Date:

16 February 2010

Release No:

COILDN/1102

Three hundred farmers from across Surrey, Sussex and Kent will be attending a free agriculture safety event at Hadlow College, Tonbridge, on the 17 February in a bid to bring down the high numbers of death and injury in the sector.

The Safety and Health Awareness Day (SHAD) at Hadlow College is fully booked and is one of a number of similar events run by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) across Britain.

The event will provide farmers with advice and information and will include demonstrations to highlight what the hazards may be in such areas as transport, working at height and manual handling and what simple measure can reduce the risks. They will have the opportunity to ask questions and share their own good practice.

Although only about 1.5 per cent of the working population works in agriculture, the industry accounts for one in five work-related deaths every year.

Recent figures for 2008/09 show that there was one fatal injury, and 94 major injuries caused by farming accidents in the South East.

Feedback from past SHADs indicates that the majority of those who attend them make at least one change to improve health and safety on the farm as a result and almost all would recommend them to another person.

The event ties in with the latest phase of HSE's 'Make The Promise' campaign which is urging farmers to make safety a priority to reduce the number of needless deaths and serious injuries.

Mike Walters, HSE Principal Inspector for the HSE in Kent said, "On average one person every week in Great Britain dies while working in agriculture. These deaths are needless and most could be prevented by taking simple steps to improve safety. This event is bringing together farmers from Surrey, Sussex and Kent to make them more aware of the day to day risks they face with the ultimate aim of saving lives and preventing future accidents. Free, practical advice will be given by trained instructors and we will be encouraging farmers to share their experiences to learn from each other."

Notes to editors

1. Farmers can get general health & safety information at www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture
2. Farmwise, a free, comprehensive guide to managing health and safety in agriculture is available at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg270.htm
3. For more information on the 'Make the Promise' agriculture safety awareness campaign visit www.hse.gov.uk/makethepromise

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Issued on behalf of the HSE by COI News & PR (London & South East)