TWENTY-THREE people have died using quad bikes at work over the past ten years - 17 involving head injuries.

Now, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is reminding farmers they must wear a helmet whenever they use an all-terrain vehicle.

The alert has been issued as lambing time, one of the busiest times of the year for using quad bikes, approaches.

HSE inspector Stephen Britton said 80 per cent of users attending safety awareness days said they had come off their vehicle at some point.

He said: "During lambing, when farmers and shepherds are constantly out in the fields keeping an eye on their flocks, the temptation can be there to just hop on to the quad bike without stopping to take the time to put on a safety helmet, but it is illegal not to wear a safety helmet when using a quad bike for work-based activity."

Farm managers have been prosecuted for failing to protect people with helmets.

Mr Britton said anyone using a quad bike on farms was required to be trained in how to use them and to wear a helmet. Advice is availabe from www.hse.gov.uk or from HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO 10 2WA.