A council worker on a ride-on mower fell into the River Lossie in just one of dozens of work-place accidents recorded last year.
Hundreds of working days are being lost every year at Moray Council due to injuries sustained from accidents.
Absences spiked during the final three months of the 2016/17 year, with 224 days lost from staff.
The large increase was more than double the amount of absences that had been recorded in the preceding three months.
In total there were 243 health and safety incidents during 2017.
And yesterday, it was revealed freak incidents on council premises are contributing to that total.
These included a ride-on mower being tipped into the River Lossie in Elgin while being driven by an employee.
A potentially fatal incident also occurred in the waste sorting plant in Lossiemouth when a contractor fell through the roof onto machinery.
At yesterday’s meeting of the council’s policy and resources committee a report was debated which stressed actions had been taken to stop similar accidents happening again.
Health and safety manager Doug Reid said a small number of absences accounted for a large proportion of the days off.
He said: “We do have two people on long-term absence. If somebody is off for three months then they would account for more than 60 days during that period.
“One of them was due to a car accident which was caused by ice at a roundabout while they were driving to work – so it is not always related to their job.”
The most recent absence figures from the council showed that 114 working days were lost during the final quarter of the 2017/18 year.
Buckie councillor Sonya Warren was eager to ensure that preventative action was taken to ensure injuries were not necessary for recommendations to be made.
She said: “We should also be reporting potential dangers and near misses, not just the things that have already happened.”
Mr Reid explained union representatives had been approached to arrange visits from staff to other departments to report hazards that may not have been identified yet.
He also revealed a spot-check was done by the Health and Safety Executive at Buckie Harbour last week, which had revealed no recommendations for immediate action.
Council leader George Alexander said: “Health and safety is hugely important. Some of us may curse it at times but it is an integral part of safe working.”
