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HSE Takes Safety Message To Royal Welsh Show

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The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in Wales this week underlined its commitment to improving health and safety in agriculture one of the UKs most dangerous industries by exhibiting at the Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells (20-23 July).

At the show Sandy Blair (pictured), HSE board member, was joined by Robin Foord (pictured), who runs a large mixed farm in Monmouthshire and lost his leg in a combine harvester accident two years ago.

Robin Foord commented: My accident could have easily been avoided had I only taken another 30 seconds to free the blockage safely, which is why Im supporting the HSEs Make the Promise, Come Home Safe campaign.  Its all too easy to get complacent with safety. Its just not worth taking the risk.

My message to everyone in the farming community is dont let familiarity breed contempt and to make sure that safety is at the forefront of everything you do.  Those extra 30 seconds really could save your life.

The Royal Welsh Show comes just weeks after HSE released statistics suggesting that working in agriculture is the most dangerous way to make a living.

Headline figures for 2008/09 indicate that 26 workers died in the sector, with a rate of 5.7 fatal injuries per 100,000 workers.

Sandy Blair, HSE board member, added: Though these latest figures suggest that fatal injuries to farm workers are at an all time low theres no getting away from the fact that there is still somebody dying needlessly every two weeks.

A fatal or serious accident can not only destroy families it can also ruin the farm as a business, threatening a livelihood that has often been passed down through the generations.

Were visiting events like the Royal Welsh Show to encourage farmers to talk to us and work with us to make sure this doesnt happen.   We know that harvest is a really busy time for everyone but we urge everyone just to take a few extra moments to make sure that safety always comes first.

As a resident of a farming community in Monmouthshire, this show is particularly close to my heart and Im enjoying meeting local people who make their living in the industry and hearing their concerns or ideas on what more HSE can do.

Although only about 1.5 per cent of the working population works in agriculture, the industry accounts for about 20 per cent of work-related deaths every year.

More than half of all deaths on farms in the last 10 years have been caused by one of three factors:

      Workplace transport (24 per cent)

      Falls from height, especially roofs (17 per cent)

      Being struck by moving or falling objects (15 per cent)

For more information and advice on improving health and safety in agriculture visit www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture

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