Construction deaths down from 79 to 72

The number of construction workers killed onsite each year has fallen from 79 to 72, official statistics released today show.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) figures show a “plateau” in deaths in 2007/08 with 72 people killed, compared to 2006/07 when 79 died – the highest for five years.

It is still much higher than the 60 deaths registered in 2005/06.

HSE chair Judith Hackitt warned construction bosses not to be complacent as the industry, along with agriculture, would be under the microscope this year.

She said: “After many years of improvement, it is disappointing that we are on a performance plateau.

“This stresses the need for everyone - employers and employees alike - to make a further effort to reduce this total of human misery.

“The high levels of fatalities in the agriculture and construction sectors continue to be of particular concern to us and will be a major focus of HSE’s work priorities over the coming year.”