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Farm businesses have recently received a renewed warning from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) about the importance of protecting themselves whilst using machinery after a man was killed using a faulty bale wrapping machine.

The man, who was working on a farm in Shropshire at the time of the accident, tragically lost his life whilst using a machine that was faulty despite the fact that it should have been inspected and maintained as part of standard risk assessments. A piece of the machine’s safety trip bar had not been designed to stop its rotating bailing arms in time to save the man’s life.

The HSE has now issued a new warning to farm workers to undergo health and safety awareness training, specifically in relation to using potentially dangerous machinery. The public body has also warned farm business owners to take steps to make their working environment safer, ensuring that all machinery is equipped with the right safety features.

David Kivlin, an inspector for the HSE, also said:

“Manufacturers of farm equipment should ensure that they design such equipment so that safety risks are reduced as far as possible for anyone who enters the danger zone of the rotating arms.”