FARMING families in Wiltshire are being encouraged to ensure their workplaces don’t become playgrounds for their children during the school holidays.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is also keen to ensure that risks are carefully considered and managed should children be helping out on farms. Most summers at least one farming child dies, and over the last ten years, 43 children and young people under 18 have received fatal injuries from work-related incidents in agriculture.

Many children have also suffered injuries resulting in amputation or burns, and falls from height or being struck by machinery are among the most common causes of accidents.

Tony Makin, HSE South West Agricultural Inspector, said: “We know that farms are homes for many children, but they are also workplaces and cannot be seen as playgrounds.

“Though the summer holidays are upon us – a time for fun and freedom for children – the work on farms carries on in earnest, with some reaching their busiest times as harvest gets underway.

HSE has produced a special guidance leaflet to help prevent accidents to children on farms.