A total of 23 workers were killed at work in Scotland between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010, according to new figures released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today.

This is compared to an average of 31 work-related deaths in the past five years across the country, and 26 fatal injuries in 2008/09.

Across Britain, the number of people killed at work has fallen to a new record low with 151 workers dying at work in 2009/10 - down 15 per cent on the previous lowest total of 178 in the year before.

Paul Stollard, Director of HSE in Scotland said: "While it's heartening to see a continued reduction in the number of work-related deaths in Scotland, it's simply not good enough that 23 people failed to come home from work to their families last year.

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"Many of these unnecessary deaths could have been avoided if simple and sensible precautions had been in place, and if workers had been involved in dealing with the risks they face.

"Once again agriculture is the most dangerous industry in which to earn a living - and we all must work hard to tackle the poor safety record in this sector.

"For the sake of those workers who have lost their lives, HSE will continue to take an uncompromising approach to safety."

Judith Hackitt, the HSE Chair said: "It's really very encouraging to see a further reduction in workplace fatalities in the past year. This is performance which owes much to good practice, leadership and employee engagement. No doubt the recession has resulted in lower levels of activity in some sectors, and a decrease in the numbers of new inexperienced recruits has also contributed to this fall in fatalities.

"Being one of the best health and safety performers in the world means continuing to strive to drive these numbers down further - not getting complacent about what we've collectively achieved and recognising the new challenges as we emerge from the recession.

"As with all health and safety statistics, today's announcement is a combination of encouraging news about improvement but also a salutary reminder of the tragedies of lives lost at work."

(GK/BMcC)