FAI to be held after death of Graham’s The Family Dairy worker

The family of a farm worker who died after being crushed by a hay bale hope a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) will help them “move on with peace”.

Alistair Blair passed away two years ago after being crushed in a farm storage shed at the village of Kippen near Stirling. 

The 64-year-old farmhand is thought to have died while completing a task in a barn filled with hay bales. 

Graham’s – a household milk brand commonly found in shops across Scotland – will now be investigated for any potential failings that contributed to Mr Blair’s death.

Devastated daughter, Lisa Blair, said: “Dad was an honest, hard-working family man who did everything he could to provide for his family.

“Ever since he died we have been at a total loss – not just with grief but in struggling to process and accept any facts because there’s still so many unanswered questions about what happened. 

“We therefore hope the FAI will help reveal how he died so we can finally get a degree of closure and be able to move on with peace. 

“And just maybe it might also help keep other farm workers safe so that other families don’t have to go through what we have over the last two years.”

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Mr Blair died on 4 November 2024. 

Precise circumstances that led to the death have not been revealed but he was understood to have been struck by hay bales that toppled over.

A single bale was estimated to weigh 250kg. 

The dad-of-two and grandfather-of-two was found by a colleague who attempted CPR but it was not successful.

A cause of death was later confirmed on Mr Blair’s death certificate as a blunt force trauma to the chest and “crushed by hay bale”. 

Bosses at Graham’s The Family Dairy are understood to have paid for Mr Blair’s funeral after the tragedy. 

Police investigated the fatal work accident alongside the Health & Safety Executive and the findings were provided to the Crown.

A health and safety prosecution against the farm was ruled out but the COPFS will hold a mandatory FAI to identify any failings in the hope of making farm processes safer. 

The first hearing of the FAI is to be held on 11 December 2026. 

Mairi Day, Partner at Digby Brown Solicitors who is helping the Blair family, said: “What happened to Mr Blair was a truly tragic and avoidable occurrence. 

“Legal investigations are at an early stage so there is little which can be discussed at this time but we will continue to support the Blair family as they seek to uncover the truth about what happened.”