Farmer who nearly died calls for safer working

Ed Caudwell said he had managed to call for help before losing consciousness after his accident with an angle grinder

A farmer who nearly died in an accident has said it is important that farms operate "in a safe manner".

Ed Caudwell, 25, is a third-generation farmer at the arable Dropshort Farm near Abingdon, Oxfordshire, who accidentally severed his femoral artery with an angle grinder while working in New Zealand in 2019.

The latest Health and Safety Executive (HSE) figures show that despite making up just 1% of the working population, working in and around farms continues to account for nearly 20% of all workplace deaths in the UK.

The HSE said farmers "must put the health and safety of themselves and others at the heart of what they do".

Mr Caudwell accidentally severed his femoral artery, which delivers blood to the legs

Mr Caudwell's farm mostly produces wheat and barley.

"I love this job, it's much more of a lifestyle than it is an occupation," he said.

After university, he decided to travel and found a job in the South Island of New Zealand.

"I was using an angle grinder which is used for cutting metal ... I lost control of it and I ended up cutting through the femoral artery on my left leg."

The femoral artery runs down from the groin and into the thigh and delivers blood to the legs.

Mr Caudwell said he had managed to call for help before losing consciousness.

"My boss's wife, who was in the house at the time, came out and tourniqueted my leg, which ultimately saved my life and stopped the bleeding," he said.

"Ultimately, I woke up about a week later from a medically induced coma in New Zealand, by which time my father was already out there by my bedside."

Mr Caudwell said that "no matter what we do, none of that is worth a hospital stint"

Mr Caudwell said that when facing a challenge now, he would "try to take a step back to think about what I'm going to do".

"It is very much a case of think twice and then cut once," he said, adding that it was "fantastic" to be able to produce British food.

"Frankly, the emotional stress that I put my family through is probably my biggest regret, so it's important to me that no matter what happens on the farm we do it in a safe manner."

Mr Caudwell has shared his story during Farm Safety Week, the annual awareness-raising campaign by The Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies).

It brings attention to the dangers farmers face every day.

HM Inspector of Health and Safety Wayne Owen said that in light of Farm Safety Week in its 13th year, studies by the foundation "reveal complacency and attitude are a major contributory factor to work-related deaths, serious injury and ill health in farming".

"Farmers must put the health and safety of themselves and others at the heart of what they do."

Mr Owen said the recently released HSE statistics "show the number of fatalities remains stubbornly high".

"We will keep working with vital partners such as the Farm Safety Foundation / Yellow Wellies and support initiatives such as Farm Safety Week, however each farm and each industry leader must play a full part in driving the much-needed cultural change in farming."

The latest HSE report shows that two agricultural workers in Oxfordshire died in 2024-2025.