THE number of serious work accidents in East Lancashire fell slightly over the past 12 months.

Provisional figures released by the Health & Safety Executive show 127 major accidents were reported in East Lancashire - compared with 140 last year.

And the number of less serious incidents was also down by 23 to 1,390.

The number of employees killed at work in Lancashire and Cumbria fell from nine to six.

But Health & Safety chiefs have warned that the accident figures for self employed people in the North West are rising.

"The number of small firms has doubled over the last 15 years and together with the self-employed they now account for more than 40 per cent of private sector employment," said Peter Robinson, area director.

"We will continue to pay particular attention to helping small firms to comply with health and safety law and in so doing cut the cost of workplace accidents."

HSE inspectors in the region secured 62 convictions for health and safety offences during the year.

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