If the storms of recent days make it hard to believe that spring, and all the outdoor work it will bring to farms and building sites, is just around the corner, then yesterday’s inquest into the tragic deaths of Noel Spence and his sons Graham and Nevin reminded us all of how treacherous workplaces can be.

A woman whose father and two brothers, one of them a rising rugby star, died in a slurry pit accident has said love for her family drove her to twice enter the fume-filled tank in a bid to rescue them.

Stormont politicians united today to offer words of sympathy and support for the grief-stricken Spence family.

The terrible tragedy near Hillsborough, Co Down, at the weekend confirms what statistics have already shown.