FARMERS have been urged to take greater safety precautions on their premises following an alarming rise in the number of deaths and injuries resulting from agricultural accidents.

One person dies in a farming accident every week, according to figures for last year published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Officials from the HSE and other bodies, including the National Farmers' Union and Freight Transport Association, joined forces yesterday to launch a series of guidelines entitled Safety on Farms - A Joint Responsibility.

The guidance was produced in response to the news that 53 people died in accidents on farms last year - including two men in accidents in North Yorkshire.

A 67-year-old farmer at Thixendale, near Malton, was killed when he was run over by his tractor after leaving it parked on a slope.

The tractor's handbrake was later found to be defective.

And at Chopgate, near Stokesley, a 51-year-old farmer died after suffering a broken neck when he was pulled inside the rotating auger of a combined harvester.

John Micklethwaite, the HSE's acting principal inspector, said: "Safety on Farms is a product of eight very diverse organisations coming together with one common concern.

"Safety is one area that affects us all, and we can all do our bit to diminish risks of accidents and injuries in the farm environment, which is where all these organisations operate."

The guide is aimed at farmers and growers, people who periodically work on farms, drivers who collect and deliver farm goods, and others making commercial visits.

John Littlefair, a prominent member of the NFU in the North-East, who helped draw up the guidelines, said: "This guidance is drawn from the experience of the eight sponsoring organisations and, if followed, should help to ensure that farms are safer places for those who live and work on them, and for those whose business takes them on to farms."

The guide was launched at Askham Bryan College, on the outskirts of York, with help from pupils of St George's Primary School, York.