HSE helps children enjoy the countryside - safely - 5 June 2007

Hundreds of North East children from town and country will learn how to enjoy themselves in safety on farms and in other rural locations, thanks to an initiative this week by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

HSE officials will be visiting Glendale Children’s Educational Countryside Day, organised by Glendale Agricultural Society at Wooler Showground, Northumberland, on Thursday 7 June to pass on rural safety messages. The Day is being attended by over 1,500 children aged 5 – 9 from 35 schools in Northumberland and North Tyneside.

HSE Health and Safety Awareness Officer Tina Donaldson said:

“Farms and the countryside generally are great places for children to gain new experiences and enjoy themselves, especially if they live in cities and towns. But they must always take care, and so must the adults in charge of them.

“The country presents many dangers for children. Forty-five children and young people have died and more than 400 have been seriously injured on farms in Great Britain in the past ten years.

“Tractors and other farm machinery are obvious dangers, and so is some livestock. Climbing up ladders and onto bales of straw can lead to falls, grain stores are places where children can be suffocated and barns are often full of highly flammable material. Children can easily drown in slurry lagoons or come into contact with dangerous chemicals.

“Hygiene is important too when children are around animals. There have been a number of outbreaks of E coli 0157 involving children associated with educational and recreational visits to farms.

“All these risks are real but are readily controlled by simple everyday measures such as ensuring potential hazards are kept secure and are well signposted, making sure everyone is aware of them and supervising children. These are the lessons we will be aiming to pass on.”

HSE staff will be handing out “Stay Safe on the Farm” booklets at the Glendale event and showing a video on farm safety created through “Crucial Crew” – an initiative involving emergency services and other agencies which provides children with the knowledge and skills to cope with the dangers around them through practical experience in the form of short scenarios.

Glendale Children’s Educational Countryside Day, now in its fourth year, aims to bring town and countryside together so that children can experience at first hand things that are related to the rural way of life. The Day fits with the current school curriculum for the 4-9 age groups.

Glendale Agricultural Society’s Show Secretary, Sarah Nelson, said:

“We are delighted that the HSE are able to contribute to our Countryside Day. Health and safety plays a vital role in all aspects of the countryside and it is important for children to be made aware of potential dangers when they are in rural areas.”

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