THE Health and Safety Executive has been carrying out a construction blitz this month in a bid to cut the number of deaths and serious accidents in the industry.

Inspectors are undertaking site visits throughout the north west and the rest of the country.

These form part of the Fatal Risks Campaign 2004, an EU-wide initiative to address three major cause of deaths and injuries in construction.

HSE inspectors are concentrating on falls arising from working at height, transport on site, including mobile plant and vehicles, and lifting heavy loads with cranes and other equipment.

Falls, transport and lifting account for more than 70 per cent of all fatal injuries in the industry. Almost 300 people have died from these causes in the last five years.

HSE chief inspector for construction Kevin Myers said the industry had worked to control the risks.

"However, the number of fatal and serious injuries is not declining fast enough," he stressed.

"All involved, from client to contractor, must use the spur of this EU initiative to make further progress to secure effective control and changes to the underlying culture that are needed to advance and sustain improvements in construction health and safety."