FARMERS and landowners in Yorkshire and the North East are being urged to put safety first this festive season after the region has been revealed to be a blackspot for fatalities.

The CLA, which represents thousands of landowners, farmers and rural businesses, has made the appeal following news that 11 of the country’s 31 fatal accidents in farming and associated rural industries – between April 2013 and March 2014 – took place in Yorkshire and the North East.

The figures, published by the Health & Safety Executive, show that no other region in the UK has such a high incidence of fatalities, with Scotland coming in second highest at seven and Wales registering the lowest death toll of one.

CLA North Regional Director Dorothy Fairburn, said: “This figure is simply not acceptable. Behind each one of these deaths is a family tragedy, many of which could have been avoided with more care and attention to safety procedures.