Employers in Cheshire East are being warned over workplace safety after new figures showed a rise in deaths and serious injuries.
Latest Health and Safety study shows two people died and there were 164 serious injuries in the borough in 2010-11.
This compares to one death and 159 serious incidents the year before. The number of minor “three-day” injuries also rose, from 520 to 542.
In Cheshire as a whole, seven people lost their lives while at work last year and 461 suffered a major injury.
The HSE is now urging employers to make safety of workers their top priority for 2012, reminding them of a legal duty to ensure lives are not at risk.
The latest national figures show on average, six in every million workers were killed while at work between April 2010 and March 2011.
High-risk industries include construction which had 50 deaths last year, agriculture with 34 deaths, and waste and recycling with nine deaths.
David Sowerby (pictured), HSE regional director for the North West, said: “The families of the seven workers in Cheshire who lost their lives last year had to face Christmas without them. Hundreds of other workers have had their lives changed forever by a major injury.
“These statistics highlight why we need good health and safety in British workplaces. Employers should spend their time tackling the real dangers that workers face rather than worrying about trivial risks or pointless paperwork.”
Advice on tackling health and safety dangers in workplaces is at www.hse.gov.uk
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