HSE Issues Yorkshire Warning

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has told businesses in the Yorkshire and Humber region to improve after the number of industrial accident deaths in the area increased in 2013.

Figures released by the authority show that 15 people died on the job in 2013 - up one from 2012 when 14 personnel lost their lives.

While most other regions showed a drop in the number of fatalities, Yorkshire and the Humber was an outlier as its death rate grew.

West Yorkshire had the highest number of deaths at seven, while there were three deaths in North Yorkshire, two in South Yorkshire and one on Humberside.

However, there was some positive news as the overall number of major injuries across the county dropped by 350 from 2,239 to 1,877 - indicating that the rise in fatalities may be an anomaly.

Across the UK as a whole the construction sector was found to be the most dangerous, with 39 deaths in 2012, while agriculture also posted poor results - with 29 deaths across the nation in this industry.

John Rowe, HSE head of operations for Yorkshire and the Humber, highlighted that while the results do have positive dimensions - especially in that the number of serious injuries fell substantially - more work is needed to reduce death rates.

"It is heartening to see that there was a significant drop in the number of major injuries in the region.

"However, the families of those 15 workers in Yorkshire and the Humber who lost their lives last year had to face Christmas without them. And there are still hundreds of workers who suffer life-changing injury and debilitation because of a major injury."

Of all of the towns and cities in the Yorkshire and Humber region, Leeds had the most industrial deaths - with three recorded in 2012-13 - a rise of one from 2011-12.

Harrogate, however, saw a marked improvement and the number of deaths fell from two in 2011-12 to none this year.