A 21-year-old farm worker has died following a quad bike accident on a dairy farm in Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway.
The young woman fell off the quad bike at Gerranton Farm, and was discovered by another farm worker.
The tragedy happened on Wednesday morning (22 September). Emergency services pronounced her dead at the scene.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Police Scotland has commenced.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We were made aware of a 21-year-old injured after coming off a quad bike on a farm near Castle Douglas shortly after 11.15am on Wednesday, September 22.
“Emergency services attended but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.”
It comes just weeks after an 86-year-old man was killed after two agricultural vehicles collided on a north Devon farm.
The incident happened on farmland at Flydon HilL, Heasley Mill, near South Molton on 29 August.
Recently published figures show that a total of 41 people in Britain were killed in agriculture during the past year, including two children and seven members of the public.
Almost twice as many people were killed on farms in England, Wales and Scotland compared to the previous year, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said.
Adrian Hodkinson, acting head of agriculture at the HSE, said the causes of farming accidents and incidents were 'well known'.
“When we investigate life-changing farm workplace incidents we find, time and time again, that risks are not being removed or managed," he added.
"The things to stop them are usually straightforward: putting on handbrakes; fastening lap belts in cabs; getting ATV training and helmets; putting cows and calves in fields without footpaths; stopping things before trying to fix or unblock them and so on.
"It is far too common for people to accept risk is an inevitable part of the job – this isn’t the case, the guidance is easily available to manage the risks and prevent injury."
