Farmer, 70, crushed to death after trailer breaks from tractor

The man who died was named yesterday by Tayside Police as Neil Abercromby, 70, who was from the Forfar area of Angus.

Mr Abercromby was killed on Monday afternoon while his tractor was towing a large seed drilling machine across a field in the Pitlowie area of Glencarse, near Perth, and was spreading seed when the accident happened.

It is understood that the farmer sustained crush injuries when the large seed drilling machine which was being towed became detached as the tractor was negotiating a steep hill.

A joint investigation has been launched into the tragic accident by Tayside Police and the Government's Health and Safety Executive.

Firefighters who were called to the scene managed to free Mr Abercromby but he was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

A spokesman for Tayside Fire and Rescue said: "The heavy trailer was in an unsecured position on arrival and the crew from Perth attached a winch to ensure it would not fall further down the hill.

"They carried out a risk assessment of the field and waited for a recovery team to remove the vehicles."

A police spokesman said: "Mr Abercromby was driving a tractor in a field in the Pitlowie area of Glencarse when the accident happened at about 3.15pm on Monday. It is thought the farmer was thrown from the tractor after it become separated from another piece of farm equipment it was towing."

He added: "Tayside Police and the Health and Safety Executive are investigating."

A local resident said that a number of workers were preparing the field for livestock when the accident happened.

He said: "It's shocking. We got a call from a neighbour who heard a loud bang and ran out to investigate. A local farmer rents the land and was preparing it for grazing. He will be devastated."

Mr Abercromby's death comes only a week after the HSE published figures which showed that farm deaths account for the largest number of fatalities at work in the UK.

The HSE report revealed that the number of people killed at work was at a record low of 151, down from 178 in the previous year. But between April 2009 and 31 March this year 38 farm workers were killed - seven more than the previous 12 months.

The rate of fatal injuries in the sector is 8.2 per 100,000 workers, making farming Britain's most dangerous industry.

HSE's head of agriculture, Graeme Walker, said: "Thirty-eight workers were killed on British farms last year, failing to come home to their families because of avoidable safety failings.

"The fact that many of these lives have been lost in family businesses is a double tragedy. Not only have families been ripped apart, but businesses that handed down through generations have been ruined. We cannot let this trend continue."

A spokesman for the farmers' union, NFU Scotland, said: "One death on a Scottish farm is one death too many.

"This tragic accident is a sharp reminder that farming remains the most dangerous occupation in the country.

He added: "Last year, 38 farmers and their staff were killed on farms - that is an appalling statistic but the reality is that most of these deaths were avoidable."

A relative of Mr Abercromby said his family were too distressed to talk about the accident.