Builders merchants Kent Blaxill promoting the hard hat safety message for constructionn workers.

East Anglian building supplies merchants Kent Blaxill is joining an important campaign for building site safety.

There are thousands of injuries in construction every year and simple actions, like wearing a hard hat, can make a difference.

Kent Blaxill works with contractors and developers across the region and as such, awareness of brain injury is key.

As part of this initiative, Kent Blaxill are sponsoring the Headway Essex Colour5K fun run at Ardleigh Showground, on Saturday June 30, which also forms part of Kent Blaxill’s 180 year anniversary celebrations in 2018.

During Action for Brain Injury Week May 14-20, Kent Blaxill are giving away 100 hard hats at their Layer Road site in Colchester on Wednesday May 16, 2018.

Staff got together in their favourite hard hats to raise awareness of this important initiative.

Injuries in the Construction Sector are sadly not uncommon and Government Labour Force Survey statistics for 2016/17 show that 64,000 non-fatal injuries occurred in the Construction industry.

Those non-fatal injuries reported reveal that 18% of those injuries were due to falls from a height and 13% due to workers being struck by moving, including flying or falling, objects.

Emma Plummer, marketing and communications manager at Headway Essex, said:“It’s fantastic that Kent Blaxill have chosen to raise awareness of acquired brain injury within the construction sector. Even with the best intentions, the fact remains that construction work can be high risk and accidents can happen. Head injuries can occur from falling or flying objects, striking fixed objects, such as scaffolding poles, falling from a height, the scenarios are vast! Wearing a hard hat can prevent, or reduce the severity of a head injury.”