Pictured above: Philip Edwards

A leading workplace injury lawyer says at-work fatality rates remain far too high as the latest Government figures are published.

The Health and Safety Executive's workplace fatality figures have revealed 151 people died at work in the UK between April 2009 and March 2010.

And Philip Edwards, who is head of Irwin Mitchell's West Midlands' workplace injuries team, said the figure was far too high - particularly in heavy industries such as construction and agriculture.

Despite new figures demonstrating a decrease of 15 per cent on the previous year's total of 178, down on the previous five-year average of 220, Philip says much more work is needed to prevent further lives from being torn apart by deaths at work.

He commented: "The figures are undeniably heading in the right direction and is a reflection of UK-wide improvements to health and safety practices in the workplace.

"However, we should be talking about people's lives, not statistics - rather than admiring the fact that 27 fewer people died at work, we should be asking why 151 lives were lost and why so many families were torn apart last year.

"The figures show that there is still much work to be done in this area, especially in industries such as agriculture and construction, which represented the largest proportion of deaths, with 38 and 41 deaths respectively. Here in the West Midlands, the latest figures show there were 10 deaths in the workplace. We must not forget that behind each of these statistics lies a personal tragedy and a grieving family."