'Luck is not a safety strategy': Campaign's fresh plea to save lives

FARMING remains the deadliest profession in Britain, according to new figures released as this year's Farm Safety Week gets into stride.

- ATHWENNA IRONS

In 2024/25 alone, 23 farm workers lost their lives on farms across Great Britain, a grim reminder of the sector's persistently poor safety record. Nearly half (48%) of the workers killed were over the age of 65.

The situation is no better in Northern Ireland, where five agricultural workers were killed over the same period, according to the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI).

As the 13th annual Farm Safety Week reaches its midway point, having started on Monday and running until Friday, the charity behind it has revealed that over the past 13 years, an average of 31 lives have been lost on UK farms every year - 27 farm workers and four members of the public including children.

Farm Safety Week, the annual awareness-raising campaign run by the Farm Safety Foundation - also known as Yellow Wellies - brings attention to the dangers farmers face every day growing food for the nation. In an industry that accounts for 1% of the working population, farming accounts for nearly 20% of all workplace deaths this gives farming the poorest safety record of any occupation in the UK.

Figures released by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) showed that, in addition to the 23 farm workers, four members of the public lost their lives last year in Great Britain. Tragically, two of the members of the public killed were children both of whom had accidents whilst using All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs). Being killed by moving or overturning vehicles is again the main cause of fatality in the industry in 2024/25.