Pairs of empty shoes were a poignant part of a memorial day rally in the centre of Bradford yesterday, remembering people who have died or been hurt at work.

The gathering of about 40 people, made up of families, friends, safety representatives and trades union members, stood clutching single red carnations and wreaths for a minute’s silence at the start of the event marking International Workers’ Memorial Day.

Among those present were Lynne Shutt, of Eccleshill, whose foreman father was killed in an horrific molten metal explosion 35 years ago.

At the time, her mother and the rest of the family had been waiting for him to come back from work to join his 30th wedding anniversary party, but it was a policeman bearing the tragic news who came through the door instead.

Mrs Shutt, 60, said: “There must be so many families like ours who have lost loved ones through work. It’s important they are not forgotten.”

During the rally, GMB National Safety Officer John McClean said the lines of empty shoes were symbolic of the “people we are not working with anymore, because they can’t”. He said across the globe 500 workers die every day and in Britain last year, there were 152 deaths, but he added: “That’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics do not cover those who die from occupational diseases such as cancer, heart and respiratory diseases, mental illness and injury.

See today's T&A for more on this story.