Deaths and injuries spark workplace danger warning

Another 123 Rotherham workers were injured, according to statistics released by the Health and Safety Executive.

Across South Yorkshire, there were a total of six workplace deaths and 625 injuries.

The HSE has issued a new warning about safety at work as a result, urging employers to make the safety of workers their top priority.

The figures were released just days after Yorkshire Spin Galvanising of Parkgate became the latest Rotherham firm fined for health and safety breaches.

The firm was fined £10,000 following an accident in which maintenance chief Jim Baldwin was badly injured when he was crushed by a 1.5-tonne weight.

A total of 171 people were killed at work in Great Britain in 2010/11, compared to 147 deaths during 2009/10.

More than 24,700 workers also suffered a major injury in 2010/11.

The six deaths and 625 major injuries in South Yorkshire compare with six deaths and 641 major injuries in 2009/10, while there was one death and 128 major injuries in Rotherham in 2009/10.

Another 2,204 workers in South Yorkshire suffered an injury or ill health which required them to take at least three days off work in 2010/11, 100 fewer than the previous year.

In Yorkshire & the Humber as a whole, there were 24 deaths and 2,609 major injuries compared with 23 deaths and 2,741 major injuries in 2009/10.

Another 8,854 workers suffered an injury or ill health which required them to take at least three days off work in 2010/11, compared with 9,309 the previous year.

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