An investigation by Ucatt has revealed that the number of construction deaths in South West England remained worryingly high.

There were a total of 5 construction deaths in the South West in 2012/13 compared to 6 in 2011/12.

The marginal reduction in construction deaths in the South West came at a time when fatalities in the whole of the UK fell last year. There were a total of 39 construction fatalities in 2012/13 compared to 49 in 2011/12.

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Nick Blundell, Regional Secretary for Ucatt's Wales and South West Region, said: "Construction deaths remain far too high. Each and every one of these deaths is an individual tragedy, where someone’s loved one did not come home one night. The vast majority of construction deaths are entirely preventable and everyone involved in the industry should be working far harder to reduce fatalities."

In 2012/13 in the UK the most common type of fatal construction accident was falls from heights which led to 23 deaths, 60% of all deaths recorded.

(CD)