Farm accidents involving livestock have been responsible for three out of the seven fatalities on Northern Ireland (NI) farms so far this year, figures from the Health and Safety Executive for NI (HSENI) confirm.

The seven fatal farm accidents that have occurred in NI to date in 2018 is already equal to the total number seen during the full calendar year in both 2017 and 2016.

HSENI principal inspector Malcolm Downey told the Farmers Journal that cows and heifers at calving, as well as bulls at any time of the year, remain the main risk to farmers.

“Older farmers are particularly at risk as they often aren’t as agile as they used to be and can’t get out of the way quickly enough if something goes wrong,” he said.