The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) continues to support Farm Safety Week, with new figures for 2025\/26 revealing that children and older workers remain disproportionately at risk on Britain\u2019s farms. Agriculture remains the industry with the highest rate of work-related fatalities.<\/p>\n
Provisional data for 2025\/26 shows that 29 people were killed in agriculture, forestry and fishing, including seven members of the public, three of whom were children. Over the last five years, nine children have lost their lives on Britain\u2019s farms, representing 6% of all work-related fatal injuries in the sector. At the other end of the age spectrum, over 65s accounted for half of all worker fatalities in 2025\/26 \u2014 a stark reminder that older farmers face particular risks in what remains a challenging working environment.<\/p>\n
Over the last five years, the sector has averaged 28 work-related deaths per year. Measured per 100,000 workers, the fatal injury rate is five times higher than construction and 21 times higher than the all-industry average. Vehicles, falling objects, falls from height, animals and machinery continue to be the main causes of death, with moving or overturning vehicles alone claiming eight lives in 2025\/26.<\/p>\n
Wayne Owen, HSE inspector for agriculture said:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe continued loss of life, particularly the deaths of nine children on Britain\u2019s farms over the last five years, is both tragic and unacceptable.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are not inevitable accidents; many result from risks that could and should be controlled.<\/p>\n \u201cChildren, particularly young children, should not be in the farm workplace \u2014 they should be in a safe, fenced area such as a farmhouse garden.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are also deeply concerned about the number of older workers losing their lives. Over 65s account for half of all worker fatalities<\/p>\n \u201cMeaningful and lasting improvement will only come through a significant cultural change across the industry \u2014 one that starts on every farm and with every farmer.<\/p>\n \u201cHSE will continue to work with industry partners, including Britain\u2019s Farm Safety Partnerships, to drive the cultural change that is so desperately needed.\u201d<\/p>\n Free guidance, including , including What a good farm looks like<\/a> and Farmwise<\/a>\u00a0(also available in Welsh), with both available at Agriculture \u2013 HSE<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Further information:<\/strong><\/p>\n The Health and Safety Executive<\/a> (HSE) is Britain\u2019s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) continues to support Farm Safety Week, with new figures for 2025\/26 revealing that children and older workers remain disproportionately at risk on Britain\u2019s farms. Agriculture remains the industry with the highest rate of work-related fatalities. Provisional data for 2025\/26 shows that 29 people were killed in agriculture, forestry and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.safetyphoto.co.uk\/safety_news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2351"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.safetyphoto.co.uk\/safety_news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.safetyphoto.co.uk\/safety_news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.safetyphoto.co.uk\/safety_news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.safetyphoto.co.uk\/safety_news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2351\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.safetyphoto.co.uk\/safety_news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.safetyphoto.co.uk\/safety_news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.safetyphoto.co.uk\/safety_news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nFurther details on the latest HSE news releases<\/a> is available.
\nGuidance for the agriculture industry is available \u2013 Agriculture \u2013 HSE<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"