Farmers warned after agriculture linked to half of pipeline incidents

Farmers and landowners have been warned to check for underground pipelines before carrying out routine land work, after agriculture was linked to more than half of UK pipeline safety incidents last year.

The 2025 Linewatch Infringement Report found that landowners and their contractors accounted for 51% of all pipeline infringements, up 10% on 2024. It means agriculture remained the biggest risk to pipeline safety for the ninth year running.

Linewatch is urging farmers and contractors to carry out a free pipeline search before any machinery enters the ground, particularly ahead of fencing, ditching, drainage and tree planting work.

A pipeline strike can create serious risks to life, the environment and critical infrastructure, as well as causing major disruption for landowners and contractors.

More than a quarter of all incidents, 26%, took place on UK farmland, the highest share of any location. The agricultural sector was also responsible for four-fifths of high-risk pipeline infringements in 2025.

Linewatch, the pipeline safety awareness group, said many of the highest-risk incidents stem from routine farm maintenance rather than major construction work.

Just under half of infringements, 49%, happened even though the person carrying out the work was aware of the pipeline. Landowners and their contractors were responsible for half of those known incidents, prompting concern about complacency around work near high-pressure pipelines.

Fencing was the biggest cause of pipeline infringements across the UK, accounting for 23% of all reported incidents and overtaking excavation work for the first time since 2022.

Other common agricultural activities also created risks, including tree planting, ditching and drainage. Tree planting accounted for 6% of incidents, while ditching and drainage each accounted for 5%.

Linewatch said these jobs could pose a threat to the UK’s network of high-pressure fuel and chemical pipelines, as well as to farmers, landowners, agricultural workers and contractors carrying out the work.

Murray Peat, Manager at Linewatch, said: "It is hugely concerning that for the ninth year running, the agricultural industry remains the single biggest risk to the UK’s underground pipeline network."

He said the rise in incidents involving agriculture was particularly concerning.

"Not only that, but numbers from this group are actually on the up," he said.

Mr Peat said land maintenance could still be carried out safely, but warned that no work near pipelines should be treated casually.

"While land maintenance is vital, work can be carried out safely," he said. "Whether it is fencing, ditching, or drainage, there is no such thing as a 'low risk' project when high-pressure pipelines are involved."

In one high-risk case, a landowner carrying out ditching and tree clearance without a prior search or operator consent reduced a pipeline’s protective cover from 900mm to 520mm.

Linewatch said the landowner knew the pipeline was present but wrongly assumed it was buried deep enough to avoid risk. The organisation warned that the incident could have resulted in a catastrophic strike.

The report also identified seasonal patterns in agricultural pipeline infringements, with incidents higher between February and April, and again in August. Linewatch said this coincided with increased seasonal work such as fencing and ditching.

Mr Peat said the first step for anyone planning work was to check for pipelines before machinery enters the ground.

"The first step is simple," he said. "Always search for pipelines using LSBUD’s free and centralised system before any machinery hits the ground."

He said the system could alert users to the presence of a pipeline quickly.

"Doing so will alert the enquirer to the presence of a pipeline in just three minutes – enough time to make a brew while you wait," he said.