FARM safety in Herefordshire has been criticised after an inspection blitz at 85 farms yielded "disappointing" results.
A series of enforcement notices have been issued after a team of nine Health and Safety Executive inspectors embarked on a whistle-stop tour of the county between March 10 and 14.
The notices include 11 improvement notices and three of the more serious prohibition notices. The improvement notices covered a range of issues from gas tanks to the fencing of a lagoon, while the prohibition notices all related to machinery guarding.
Alastair Mitchell, HM inspector at HSE Worcester, said: "It was disappointing to find there were a number of situations that required inspectors to take enforcement action. Most of the issues that were found to be lacking were straight forward matters that we would expect farmers to be doing."
Any farm failing to comply with the enforcement notices would face a fine of up to £20,000.
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