Comedian Al Murray has revealed how he once helped save a young Suffolk farm worker's life after a horrifying farm accident.
The entertainer, best known for his 'pub landlord' alter ego, described his dramatic experience to raise awareness of the fifth annual Farm Safety Week, which runs from July 24-28.
When he was 12 years old, Mr Murray had been holidaying on his cousin's farm at Walsham le Willows, near Bury St Edmunds, spending the days playing in the fields while his father helped with the harvest.
One day, while cycling back to the farmhouse, he heard cries for help coming from one of the machines in the field and found 18-year-old farm worker Chris Brown with his arm trapped in a hay baler, in pain and losing a lot of blood.
He tried to pull the trapped teenager out of the machine by his welly boots but, realising this tactic wouldn't work, he asked what he could do to help and was talked through the shutdown procedure for the machine by the stricken worker.
This wasn't as easy as it sounds. 'The tractor was Dutch so, the stop control, or the 'whacking great knob' as Chris described it, was located on the opposite side to where it should be,' said the comedian.
Mr Murray managed to stop the machine, and raise the alarm to attract the attention of his father, who dismantled the machine to dislodge the trapped arm and tourniquet the injury before the ambulance arrived to take Mr Brown to hospital.
Thankfully surgeons were able to save his arm, but Mr Brown still bears the scars from his accident, which he said highlights the constant dangers of working with machinery and the importance of following the Safe Stop procedure.
He said: 'I knew I was breaking every safety rule by not turning off the machine but, at 18 years of age, I was more concerned about getting my hair stuck in the baler than my arm.'
Mr Murray, who recalled his part in the rescue drama alongside Mr Brown on Sunday's BBC Countryfile programme, said he finally agreed to talk about it publicly to draw attention to farm safety during a week where Health and Safety Executive figures revealed that 30 people died on UK farms last year.
'Not many people realise that farming is actually the most dangerous occupation in the UK and we should be talking about it more' he said. 'Even I've had experience of this but I've just never talked about it.'
Stephanie Berkeley from the Farm Safety Foundation, the charity behind Farm Safety Week, said: 'Many farmers think 'farm safety last' rather than 'farm safety first' but most of these accidents are avoidable.
'Unlike other occupations, farmers don't normally retire at 65 and often work well into their 80s. Simple factors such as habit, haste, fatigue, and improperly maintained machinery contribute to this perfect storm but, this Farm Safety Week, we hope that by hearing the stories of other farmers and extraordinary people like Al Murray who have had personal experience of farm accidents, we can get farmers of all ages to realise that this week, and every week, farm safety is a lifestyle, not a slogan.'
FARM FATALITIES
New figures published by the Health and Safety Executive have revealed the causes of the 30 deaths recorded on farms in 2016/17.
• 9 (30%) Transport (overturning vehicles or struck/hit by moving vehicle).
• 6 (20%) Trapped by something collapsing (including vehicles supported by lifting equipment and straw bales).
• 5 (17%) Struck by moving, falling or flying objects.
• 3 (10%) Contact with electricity or an electrical discharge.
• 2 (7%) Fell from a height.
• 2 (7%) Injured by an animal (cattle).
• 1 (3%) Contact with moving machinery.
• 1 (3%) Asphyxiation (in a grain store).
• 1 (3%) Struck against something fixed or stationary (in this case, a mini-digger and door frame).
Of the 30 deaths, 20 people were self employed, seven were employed, and three were members of the public, including a three-year-old child.
For more information on Farm Safety Week follow @yellowwelliesUK on Twitter or search the hashtag #FarmSafetyWeek.
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