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Britain will hold its first National Fork Lift Safety Week from 22 to 28 September to raise forklift safety awareness among businesses and operators.

The safety week is an initiative of the Fork Lift Truck Association (FLTA) and aims to reduce the death and serious injury toll resulting from accidents involving forklifts.

FLTA says around two-thirds of forklift accidents kill or injure people who are not driving the forklift.

"It means that anyone visiting or working at one of the estimated 100,000 British businesses that use a forklift could be at serious risk," says David Ellison, FLTA's chief executive.

The key message of the campaign is "Pedestrians and forklifts don't mix."

Ellison says every day someone in the UK is hospitalised in a forklift accident that could have been avoided.

"Sadly, some are killed. Most of these people were not operating the truck at the time.

"We want people to be aware that whenever they see a forklift - whether it's at work or in their local garden centre or DIY store - they need to be careful, they need to keep clear, and they must certainly never assume the operator has seen them.

"Our aim is that nobody will be killed or injured by a forklift during National Fork Lift Safety Week."

Based on historical information, at least two workers will be killed by forklifts this September and up to 60 more will suffer serious injuries.

Deaths occur, on average, every six weeks - increasing to around fortnightly in September - with 400 employees hospitalised every year.

Statistics show that the UK's forklift operators account for more serious accidents than cars and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).

Fork Lift Safety Week is not just aimed at forklift operators, but also other workers and members of the public.