Jeremy just the man to front safety campaign

With the fatal accident rate on British farms showing no signs of slowing, the Government really must start a new and effective safety campaign, Bridgwater and West Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger tells Defra Secretary George Eustice

DEAR George, Few of us can’t bring to mind a farmer who has taken an early exit from this world as a result of an accident or mishap. In fact most of us, I would suggest, could name two or three.

Every year the grim statistics of farm deaths are trotted out to reinforce the message that farming remains one of the most hazardous of all occupations. But of course each single case represents an enormous family tragedy.

I am prompted to muse on this by the reporting of two more deaths in a single day this week.

One related to slurry fumes and the other to a fall from a roof. If things run true to form these are likely to be but the curtain-raisers for another summer of death and serious injury as we enter one of the busiest and most risk-prone times of the year.

I cannot hope to achieve anything myself by raising this issue with you. But I do believe there needs to be some serious government intervention when we have reached the stage where farm deaths are averaging one a week.

I’m aware campaigns have been run by the farming unions and the HSE until both have become blue in the face but clearly they haven’t worked if 50 farmers a year are still succumbing.

The dangers of working at height and with powerful machinery are universally known yet continue to account for a significant proportion of deaths, maybe because farmers are distracted, or pressed for time (or

money) and therefore tempted to take shortcuts. Or perhaps because they have simply become blasé about the whole thing and believe nothing will happen to them.

Farms are so rich in dangerous situations, the profession itself so innately risky that there is little more we can do other than to stress the guidelines for safe working. But somehow we need to instil a belt and braces approach to every potentially risky situation.

To persuade farmers that stopping and carefully assessing risks with a

fresh eye – rather than one clouded by experience – should be the hard and fast rule in every case.

They should also stop and consider the consequences for their families – not merely the grief associated with their abrupt demise but the continuing pain that will be felt on each and every anniversary as the years roll by, a life sentence for the family occasioned merely by a moment of carelessness or inattention.

Let’s do something about it, George. A first approach may be to

harness the talents of Jeremy Clarkson, who’s attracting quite a following documenting his exploits as a farmer on the Cotswolds. There is a huge degree of buffoonery involved but it’s all, I am told, highly watchable stuff and he has captured quite an audience

And as both a newcomer to the industry and a very skilled communicator, I can think of no one better placed than he to beat this particular drum.

TV star Jeremy Clarkson has captured quite an audience with his new Amazon show, says Ian