PRUDHOE’S largest employer welcomed staff and their families to their first family fun day.

Tissue manufacturer SCA Hygiene hosted the family fun day at their Prudhoe plant.

The event was the highlight of the company’s Global Safety Week, an annual event aimed at raising awareness of safe working practices and SCA’s safety-first culture.

Around 500 staff and their families enjoyed the day’s entertainment which included fairground rides, fun competitions, bouncy castles, face painting, an exhibition by Prudhoe Fire & Rescue, a barbecue and ice cream stalls.

Site manager George Placogiannakis said: “The working environment and safety of our employees are of paramount importance to SCA and we want everyone to feel safe at work. This relates not only to the physical work environment, but also to promoting a culture in which safety is at the very heart of everything we do.

“SCA has a vision of zero workplace accidents at all of its sites. To achieve this goal, the company must continuously reduce its accident frequency rate. Safety workshops, training and briefings are an important part of our Global Safety Week initiative.

“It’s a serious subject, but we decided that families play an important part in getting the safety message across to our employees.

“That’s why we invested in this family fun day where many of the activities had an underlying safety message.

“We were blessed with good weather which meant we had a great day of fun outdoor activities – as well as giving youngsters a tour of the factory and paper mill so they could see where mum or dad works.”