FARMERS and landowners in Yorkshire and the North East are being urged to put safety first after the region was revealed as a blackspot for fatalities.

The CLA, which represents thousands of landowners, farmers and rural businesses in the area, has made the appeal following news that 11 of the country’s 31 fatal accidents in farming and associated rural industries between April 2013 and March 2014 took place in Yorkshire and the North East.

The figures, published by the Health and Safety Executive, show that no other region in the UK has such a high incidence of fatalities, with Scotland coming in second highest at seven and Wales registering the lowest death toll of one.

CLA North regional director Dorothy Fairburn said: “This figure is simply not acceptable. Behind each one of these deaths is a family tragedy, many of which could have been avoided with more care and attention to safety procedures.

“As in previous years, large farm machinery such as tractors, ploughs and slurry tankers were responsible for more deaths than any other cause. We are asking all of our members to be extra careful and vigilant, particularly when working with farm machinery, to ensure their families are not put through the hell of losing a loved one.”

The report revealed that 31 deaths took place in 2013/14, six less than in the previous year. Overturning vehicles or being struck by a moving vehicle accounted for 32 per cent of deaths, injuries from animals accounted for 23 per cent and falling from a height 16 per cent. Two children were killed as a result of a farming activity.

The full report can be viewed at hse.gov.uk/agriculture/pdf/fatal1314.pdf?ebul=ag&cr=1/12-dec-14