NFU Mutual’s Ruthin and Corwen offices are holding a farm safety day at Rhug Estate near Corwen. The day will include practical demonstrations to illustrate why accidents happen when farmers are using different types of machinery.

“As a major insurer of farmers in Wales we are deeply concerned to see farm accidents continuing to cause serious injuries and deaths,” said Wyn Roberts, NFU Mutual agent for Ruthin.

“To tackle the problem we’ve organised a very practical session for farmers, their partners and farm workers who live and work around the machinery and activities that are involved in many farm accidents. 

“We are very fortunate to have been offered the facilities of Rhug Estate near Corwen, post code LL21 0EH, for the event. It will include presentations on common causes of accidents, advice on safe working practices and how to stay on the right side of health and safety legislation.

“There will also be practical sessions on farm machinery safety and opportunities to join tours of the 1,050 hectare organic farm.”

“We’re a mutual insurer, owned by our customers, and we want to use the knowledge we have gained dealing with farm accident insurance claims to help farmers understand the risks of modern agriculture better - and avoid the hazards which, time and time again, lead to deaths and serious injuries.”

The day starts at 10 00 AM and includes lunch. For more information, farmers can call NFU Mutual’s Ruthin and Corwen offices on 01824 729069 or 01490 412649.

They’ve done it again! The cycling team arrived at the Wales RSC on Monday afternoon to a warm welcome from RSC staff and some well deserved celebratory champagne and cake! On arrival Leigh Shackleton, General Manager Agency, congratulated the team and presented each rider with a gold medal!

Merfyn Roberts, Agent at Corwen, was taking part in the event for the second year running. We caught up with him to find out about the highs and lows of the trip.

“The lowest point was Wyn's accident. The first day's cycling had gone well and without incident, until, with only 5 miles left before the team reached their first night’s destination, Wyn Roberts hit a sleeping policeman in the road and fell over the handle bars, hitting his face and head on the tarmac. Luckily, an ambulance happened to be passing within minutes of the accident, with a second ambulance and our support vehicle arriving shortly afterwards.

“Wyn received fantastic care and attention there and then and was taken to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor where he had emergency surgery that night. He was kept in hospital over the weekend and he is now slowly recovering at home and hopes to be back at work within a few weeks. He is proud of our achievement and was disappointed not to have been able to complete the challenge. We did consider abandoning the challenge after Wyn's accident, however we all decided to carry on as we knew that this is what he would have wanted us to do.

“The other low point was the torrential rain on Sunday. We stopped at a McDonald’s in Carmarthen at Sunday lunchtime and seeing the rain as we tried to leave we were all almost ready to stop!

“The high point for me was arriving at the Service Centre and seeing the welcome we had from the Mutual staff, it really did mean a lot for us. The other high points were the banter we had amongst the team of riders and the support crew, which really kept us going, and watching the sun set over the beautiful Harlech coast line.

“As Agents we are all proud to have been able to play our part in helping the Mutual raise money for Make-A-Wish. It's a good feeling to be able to give something back to people less fortunate than ourselves. Thank you to everyone who’s sponsored us.”

Many congratulations to the team and best wishes to Wyn for a speedy recovery.

A team of six agents from North Wales have come up with a fabulous fundraiser for Make-A-Wish Foundation.  They plan to cycle from the sub office at Abergele on the North Wales coast through the hills and valleys of Wales, finally arriving at their destination of the Regional Service Centre in Cardiff Bay.

The team will depart on Tuesday 29th June and will cycle for four days spending overnight stops at Bala, Newtown and Brecon. They should arrive in Cardiff on Friday 2nd July, after a total journey of approximately 200 miles.

The six intrepid agents are Merfyn Roberts, Wyn Roberts and Carys Roberts from West Clwyd agency, Emyr Davies and Gwyn Thomas from Llangefni branch and Aled Griffiths from Newtown branch.

There is also a Support Team in place who will follow the cyclists in a van kindly supplied by Enterprise Rent a Car.

Team Leader Wyn Roberts says, "We are all training hard and know that its going to be tough. But we are focused on our goal having set ourselves a target to raise £2,000.”

Please support them in this tremendous effort by going to www.justgiving.com/nfumtourdewales and sponsoring them.