TWO industrial giants in York are among the latest to join a project to help the city's small ventures to become safer, injury-free places in which to work.

Nestl Rowntree and the British Sugar factory in Plantation Drive have pledged their help by responding to the City of York Council's Good Neighbour Awards competition launched in October. The awards, for the best big company initiatives to help small firms in the city with health and safety, are seen as a way of cutting down on drastic injury figures.

Staff from British Sugar's York factory are offering 20 free places on two four-hour workshops covering control of hazardous substances and manual handling issues on March 12 and March 19.

Three people will be able to join factory auditors on a site inspection at the sugar plant on January 24, getting directly involved in safety surveys.

The British Sugar factory's occupational health nurse will also be on hand to offer advice or can be phoned directly at 01904 790531, quoting the Good Neighbour Award.

Nestl Rowntree plans two free training sessions on managing safety and assessing risks - on February 18 and February 25.

Fulcrum Health & Safety Consultancy, of Clifton Moor, is offering to run free advice visits to small businesses throughout the competition until March 31.

Anyone who feels their firm could benefit from these offers, courses or audit tours should phone Jackie Armitage, senior environmental health officer at City of York Council on 01904 551525

Updated: 10:41 Tuesday, January 14, 2003