A MAN has died in a suspected cattle-trampling incident in South Gloucestershire.

Avon and Somerset Police and the Health and Safety Executive are investigating after the man was found with fatal injuries surrounded by cattle at a field in Marshfield last Tuesday (August 10).

The suspected cattle-trampling incident was one of four fatalities on UK farms in a fortnight.

The HSE - Britain’s workplace regulator - said more must be done to improve farm safety after being notified of the most recent incidents, which include the death of a three-year-old boy in Wales.

The latest figures showed that agriculture has the worst rate of fatal injuries of all the major industrial sectors, around 20 times higher than the average five-year annual rate across all industries.

HSE’s acting head of agriculture Adrian Hodkinson said: “While we must respect the ongoing investigations following these tragic incidents, most injuries or deaths that we’ve historically seen on farms have been both predictable and preventable.

"Despite the efforts of the Farm Safety Partnership in particular, an industry-wide change in attitude is needed for farmers to take action to protect themselves and others to the well-known risks they face."

Stuart Roberts of Farm Safety Partnership England said: “The number of deaths on farmland is deeply upsetting. The fact remains that there have been four deaths in the last two weeks alone – that is four too many. Every farmer has a responsibility to make safety their number one priority, especially as we enter the height of the school holidays with more families visiting the countryside."