AMPLEFORTH Abbey and College has won an international safety award.

The award, from the British Safety Council (BSC), is in recognition of its commitment to keeping its workers and workplaces healthy and safe.

With more than 500 employees and volunteers, the abbey and college is one of only 578 sites worldwide to win an International Safety Award in 2017.

John Ridge, director of health and safety at the abbey and college, said: “We are very pleased to have won this award as it highlights the importance Ampleforth Abbey and College places on the health and safety and wellbeing of its staff and students and visitors to its site.

“Health and safety is one of our dominant values, underpinned by a shared understanding that the care of others is a fundamental Christian duty at the heart of our Benedictine ethos, present long before the modern sense of health and safety came into being.”

Mike Robinson, chief executive of the BSC, said: “The British Safety Council commends Ampleforth Abbey and College on their achievement.”

“Sensible and proportionate management of health and safety risks at work brings lasting benefits for workers, their families, businesses and society as a whole. By celebrating and sharing the achievements of the winners of the International Safety Awards, we encourage businesses all over the world to follow their lead and place employees’ health and safety at the heart of their business. Our warmest congratulations.”