Farm related accidents are the third greatest cause of child accident fatalities in Northern Ireland after road traffic accidents and house fires, which is not surprising given the rural nature of the province. The Rural Development Council for Northern Ireland provided the Child Accident Prevention Trust with funding to examine some issues regarding children's safety on farms. Through focus groups and a series of questionnaires with children (aged 10–18 years), their parents and some professional workers, we built up a fairly comprehensive picture of hazards in the rural environment.

Aspects of local farms which parents felt posed particular problems included open slurry pits and lagoons, keys being left in tractors, heavy goods vehicles in …