Farmers flock to safety event at Rochdale Football Club

Farmer at work

Reducing farm accidents will be the theme of a safety awareness day staged by the Health and Safety Executive at Rochdale Football Club on Thursday, 9 March.

The event will focus specifically on agriculture as one of the worst industries for incidents in the UK.

Last year 47 people died in agricultural tragedies, six of them in the North West.

HSE Principal Inspector Tony Trenear said:

"The day is designed to make farmers take health and safety matters more seriously.  An alarming number of incidents take place in this industry, many of which could be avoided with a few sensible precautions.

"We will be looking at a range of scenarios ranging from potential back injuries caused by lifting and carrying heavy bags to the fatal risks posed by rotating shafts on tractors.

"Farmers have the opportunity to discuss these safety issues with our experts in an informal setting as an alternative to receiving an HSE inspection visit."

The day will feature seven safety scenarios that highlight the risks of certain work activities and offer practical advice for safe practice.

These include driving all terrain vehicles, working on roofs, working with ladders, workplace transport, tackling machine blockages and related issues of child safety, the manual handling of equipment and supplies, and operating the power take off shaft at the rear of farm vehicles.

HSE is running the day in partnership with Lantra, the Skills Council for Environmental and Land-based sector.

Some 300 farmers from Rochdale and the surrounding area are expected at the sessions which each last around 2hrs 30m and include a free lunch.

Attendance is by invitation only.  Anyone interested in attending should contact Damian Hilton at HSE Manchester, tel: 0161 952 8200.