9:42am Saturday 23rd February 2008
HEALTH and safety chiefs have taken enforcement action against 23 farms in North Yorkshire during a two-month campaign of inspections around the county.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) undertook 112 site visits between December 17 2007 and February 18 and issued six Prohibition Notices, where the risk of serious personal injury was so great that work activities had to be stopped, and 17 Improvement Notices.
The campaign was aimed at self-employed farmers and farming families who had not been recently inspected and who did not attend a special Safety and Health Awareness Day held in Harrogate last September.
HSE Inspector Julian Franklin who led the initiative, said: "This campaign has been very effective.
"While the number of notices issued underlines the continuation of some poor working practices and the persistence of a worrying disregard for personal safety in this industry, nevertheless the response to HSE's visits from self-owned and tenanted farmers and their landlords has been generally very positive.
"Advice and support was particularly welcomed in areas like the storage of ammonium nitrate fertiliser to reduce the risk of fire and the management of asbestos was also high up the list."
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