ALMOST 700 people were injured while at work in Worcestershire over a 12 month period, new figures show.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is marking its 40th anniversary this year with an appeal for Worcestershire businesses to ensure the safety of workers is their top priority.

From April 2013 to April 2014, 694 people were injured at work in the county, compared to 738 people who were injured at work in the previous year and one person who died.

In the same period, 10,800 people are estimated to have been made ill through their work.

Samantha Peace, HSE regional director for the West Midlands, said: “The figures offer encouragement that we are continuing to head in the right direction, but they also show that we can still go further and challenge the industries where there is room to do more.

“Workplace conditions have improved dramatically in the past four decades, but as employers plan and prepare for the new financial year they need to ensure that health, safety and welfare is a clear focus.”

Across Britain, there were 133 deaths at work in 2013/14, more than 79,500 injuries and more than 1.1 million people are estimated to have been made ill.

That is a vast reduction from when the HSE was formally established in January 1975 to enforce the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

HSE chairman, Judith Hackitt, said: “In the forty years since HSE was formed, we’ve worked with businesses, workers and government to make Britain a healthier and safer place to work.

“Thousands of serious injuries have been prevented and work-related deaths have reduced by 85 per cent. HSE has helped Britain become one of the safest places to work in the world.

“But we must also recognise that there is still a big challenge to prevent the suffering which does still occur. Seeing the annual statistics always leads to mixed emotions, sympathy for those who have suffered injury themselves and for the families and workmates of those who have lost their lives, determination to improve things further as well as encouragement that we are continuing to make progress in reducing the toll of suffering.

“For the last eight years we have consistently recorded one of the lowest rates of fatal injuries to workers among the leading industrial nations in Europe. However, in HSE’s 40th year it is right that we acknowledge the progress we’ve made and look to a future of striving to bring down these statistics even further.”