Respected farmer dies following farm machinery accident

John Hamilton (L) died following a serious accident on his farm (Photo: Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland)
John Hamilton (L) died following a serious accident on his farm (Photo: Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland)

John Hamilton, a farmer and director at the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, has died following a serious farm machinery accident.

The 57-year-old farmer, who kept 500 suckler cows and 2,000 sheep, was killed on Sunday (24 March) after his machinery overturned. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police Scotland confirmed there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

Known as 'Joffy' to his friends, he farmed at Aikengall Farm, near Garvald, East Lothian, with his wife and three children.

He joined the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) in 2005 as a director.

Alan Laidlaw, RHASS chief executive, said: “As a much loved character John brought so much to the RHASS team and will be sorely missed by us all. Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.”

The accident follows farmers being encouraged to 'make positive changes and be safe on the farm' as a new campaign highlights risks of everyday agricultural tasks.

NFU Mutual has joined forces with the Farm Safety Foundation to urge farmers to assess the risk involved in of everyday farming tasks which continue to cause high levels of injuries and deaths.

The campaign follows news that the number of fatal accidents in the agricultural industry during 2016/17 was 27, according to figures from the Health and Safety Executive.

That equates to 7.73 deaths per 100,000 workers in agriculture, compared to 1.94 in construction.