14th July 2022
Everything you need to know about Anti-Climb Spike regulations
Anti-Climb Spikes and other associated products are seen as an extremely effective deterrent against a number of perceived nuisances such as cats and birds, and even intruders, however, there are certain regulations that you must follow to ensure that you are staying within legal guidelines. We take a look at these guidelines so that you know where these Anti-Climb Spikes can be installed.
IronmongeryDirect
14th July 2022
5 mins
The Regulations
There are several regulations and legal statutes involved when it comes to Anti-Climb Spikes, including the 1957 Occupiers’ Liability Act, the Occupiers Liability Act 1984 and the Highways Act 1980.
Occupiers Liability refers to a duty of care that occupiers of properties have to ensure that anyone that enters their property is safe, even if they are unwanted and even have criminal intentions. This means that deterrents such as barbed wire or any jagged objects are often not permitted, especially in domestic properties. Installing this kind of perimeter security could leave you open to being liable for damage if intruders are injured or their clothing is damaged as a result.
When it comes to height regulations, UK law states that any perimeter fence, wall or hedge must be no more than 2 meters high, and 1 meter if the perimeter adjoins with any public footpaths or highways. Any perimeter fence, wall or hedge that exceeds this height will require planning permission from your local authority, so if you are looking to install these types of security measures, it’s best to check with your local authority first.
What is permitted?
Due to the stringent rules regarding Anti-Climb Spikes and other associated products, they are often only installed on fences and walls that are above 2 meters in height. This ensures that there is no risk of damage or injury involving those that are not attempting to scale the fence or boundary.
As well as this, part of these regulations is in place to not only ensure the safety of anyone that comes in to contact with these Anti-Climb Spikes, but the protection of the installer too. This section of the regulations refers to installing adequate and visible warning signage.
This signage is not only useful as a first line deterrent in the hope that boundaries will not be crossed in the first place, but will also absolve the installer of any liability, as the intruder would have been fairly warned of the danger of crossing the boundary.
Here at IronmongeryDirect, we stock a range of anti-climb products from top brands including Prikka Strip and BirdBan, to ensure that your perimeters are well protected, but done so in a way that will not result in any legal repercussions for the installer.