Come find out exactly what could possibly go wrong on your farm

ANDREW CRITCHLOW, Derbyshire NFU County Advisor, is inviting you to a free event in Bakewell tomorrow highlighting the ways to keep safe in one of the deadliest jobs in Britain

WHAT Could Possibly Go Wrong is the name of an event at Bakewell Market tomorrow from 3pm to 9pm.

Just drop-in to this FREE event and meet, eat, chat and find out ‘what can go wrong.’

There will live demonstrations, talks and stands with a health and safety theme; you can watch and listen to what you want whilst eating a pork bap or piece of cake which are free, but a donation is expected to the Air Ambulance.

In the last ten years, almost one person a week has been killed as a direct result of agricultural work. Many more have been seriously injured.

Farming has the unenviable reputation of being Britain’s deadliest job.

Just over one per cent of the GB workforce (employees and self-employed) work in agriculture, but it accounts for about one in five fatal injuries to workers.

The most common causes of death are:

Being struck by moving vehicles or overturning, including quad bikes.

Being struck by a moving or falling object, e.g. bales, trees etc.

Falls from height. Asphyxiation from slurry gases or falling into bins of grains or drowning.

Contact with moving machinery parts such as PTO shafts.

Cattle.

Contact with electricity, nearly two-thirds with overhead power lines.

We have to stop. We have to stop jumping onto quad bikes without a helmet on. We’re all guilty of it, it’s just like it was before there were roll bars on tractors or seatbelt wearing became mandatory. Nobody questions those now. We all know many lives have been saved by their introduction.

The same has to be true for helmet wearing on quad bikes.