THE number of construction workers killed in site accidents rose sharply from 29 to 45 last year, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has revealed.

The total was also higher than the five-year average of 37 annual deaths, with construction making up a third of the 135 workers killed in work-related accidents across all UK industries in the 12 months to March 2023.

It was followed by the combined sector of agriculture, forestry and fishing with 21 deaths and manufacturing with 15 deaths.

The HSE said: “The most common kinds of fatal accidents at work are falls from a height (40), struck by moving object (29) and struck by moving vehicle (20) — all accounting for around two thirds of fatal injuries to workers in 2022/23.”

Official figures for Mesothelioma — the cancer that can be caused by past exposure to asbestos — showed 2,268 people died from the disease in 2021.