Farm worker deaths almost double

The report from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that overall there were forty seven deaths in agriculture between April 2004 and 2005, four less than in 2003/04.

However, the figures for 2003/04 included several fatalities arising from a single incident - the Morecambe Bay tragedy of February 2004, in which 21 migrant cockle pickers drowned off the Lancashire coast.

Excluding this incident and looking at deaths among workers only, the report revealed that there were 44 fatal accidents in 2004/05, compared to 23 in 2003/04 - a leap of 91%.

The HSE report showed that 17 employees were killed, an increase of 11 over the previous year's figures, and 4 higher than the average for the previous five years. Twenty-seven self-employed people died last year, an increase of 10 over 2003/04 (excluding the Morecambe Bay incident).

Out of the 44 worker fatalities during 2004/05, 32 were aged 40 years or over and over half were aged 55 years or over. Also, nine of the self-employed workers killed were above the normal retirement age of sixty-five.

Overall, 200 workers in the farming, forestry and horticulture sectors have been killed over the previous five years, making it the second worst industry for deaths after construction.

Common causes

The HSE report also revealed that three members of the public were killed in 2004/05, all over 72 years of age. One member of the public died as a result of someone else's work activity, while the others were family relations. For the first year in over a decade, no children were killed.

Transport caused the most deaths (16) compared to any other category. The majority were as a result of being struck by a moving vehicle, the remainder occurred when vehicles overturned either crushing and trapping the victim or causing them to fall out of the vehicle. Six incidents involved tractors, including a double fatality when a tractor overturned into a canal.

The second highest cause of injury was being struck by falling, flying or moving objects. Four involved falling branches/trees during tree work, a further incident involved a chainsaw. Most of the other incidents involved vehicles falling from supports, trailers or items falling from vehicles.

Seven people died as a result of falling from a height and three deaths occurred when the victim was struck against something fixed or stationary. Contact with machinery caused a further three deaths and three people were killed by farm animals.

Two people were electrocuted by overhead powerlines, one was asphyxiated in a grain silo and the remaining victim drowned whilst diving alone.

Updated guidance

The HSE has recently produced an updated version of its 'Farmwise' health and safety guide, with the support of Norwich Union.

The guide covers the effective management of health and safety in agriculture, compliance with the law and how to carry out risk assessments. It is aimed at both those responsible for running a farming business and people working on farms.

David Bruce, product manager at Norwich Union, said: "In the last 10 years an average of 49 people a year have been killed because of agricultural and horticultural work activities. By supporting this guide we hope to help eliminate hazards and control risks to reduce the number of injuries and ill health in this industry.

"It provides sound advice on a wide range of activities in agriculture, from selecting and buying new machinery, to the safety of children and the public. It focuses on the most common causes of accidents, injuries and ill health, such as transport and falls from height, as well as many other aspects of workplace safety and welfare."

The guide is available free of charge from HSE Books - telephone 01787 881165 - or can be downloaded from the HSE website (see link above/right).