A new safety campaign has been launched to reduce the shocking toll of deaths and injuries caused by farm vehicles.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says incidents involving moving vehicles were responsible for 30pc of farm fatalities in the past five years - with 48 lives lost, including one in the East of England.

It has launched a website containing simple advice, including segregating vehicles and people by using clearly-marked walkways, and using lighting and high-visibility clothing to help everyone be seen.

Vehicle owners are reminded to check brakes regularly, ensure seatbelts are worn, and keep windows and mirrors clean. And drivers are urged to follow the "safe stop" procedure before exiting a vehicle.

Sue Thompson, HSE’s head of agriculture policy, said the Work Right campaign aimed to address the "shocking statistic" of agriculture's average fatal incident rate being 21 times higher than the average across all other industries.

"With significant pressure on British farmers now, we want to support the farming community to show that safety on the farm doesn’t need to be difficult or expensive," she said.

See workright.campaign.gov.uk/campaigns/agriculture.