A common problem nowadays is that personal items such as keys, credit-cards, money and mobile telephones are at risk from theft when the owner is in a public place.

This sort of theft can be divided into four main categories :'dipping', where an opportunist thief will slip a hand into the owners bag or pocket, remove articles therefrom and quickly depart ;'lifting', where a thief will enter a public place such as a cafe, bar or restaurant, spot a bag which the owner has left by the base of the chair or table where they are sitting, and quickly pick it up and leave the premises ;'grabbing', which is forceful bag or mobile phone theft from a person; and'slashing', which is where a thief will cut the material of a victims bag or rucksack with a sharp knife, and take the personal item from the open hole by hand, or as they spill out.

All of these modes of theft may occur when owners do not have their personal items securely stowed about their person, either in a separate bag or in a pocket.

Money belts are known which allow users to store personal items around their waist, but these are generally unattractive garments and are cumbersome, and also necessarily include some sort of closure means, such as a zip, to seal the pocket in order to keep the personal items contained therein, in place. It is an object of the present invention therefore to provide a garment for stowing personal possessions on a person's body which will substantially reduce their susceptibility to theft by any of the methods described above.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a security belt with a pocket to receive and hold an article therein, the pocket having an access aperture which is stretchable to enlarge said aperture and allow the article to be inserted in the pocket, said aperture and the pocket gripping the article once inserted therein.

In a preferred embodiment, the belt has opposite ends which can be joined together by releasable means. Alternatively, the belt may be a continuous band.

Conveniently, the belt is made from two layers of stretchable material and the pocket is formed between said two layers. Preferably the belt has an upper and lower edge, a respective elastic strip being attached to each edge.

Conveniently, an elastic strip is attached around the pocket access opening and in a preferred embodiment, the belt has a plurality of pockets therein.

Preferably, the belt is made of a stretchable fabric.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a security armlet comprising a tubular body portion with a pocket therein to receive and hold an article, the pocket having an access aperture which is stretchable to enlarge said aperture and allow the article to be inserted in the pocket, said aperture and pocket gripping the article when inserted therein.

Conveniently, the tubular body includes releasable fastening means which facilitate the fitting of the armlet to a users forearm. Alternatively, the armlet may be a continuous band.

In a preferred embodiment, the armlet is made from two layers of material and the pocket is formed between said two layers. Preferably, a respective elastic strip is attached around each opposite end of the tubular armlet body portion.

Conveniently, an elastic strip is attached around the access aperture and preferably, a flap is provided in the pocket adjacent the top of the opening to retain the article in the pocket. The armlet may have a plurality of pockets therein.

Conveniently, the tubular body is made from a stretchable fabric.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 shows the article of Figure 1, but with the remote ends connected; Figure 3 shows an alternative embodiment of the present invention; and, Figure 4 shows another view of the article shown in Figure 3.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a security garment which comprises a band or belt 1, provided with known fastening means 2a, 2b at its opposite ends 3.

Strips of elastic material 4 and 5 are attached along upper 6 and lower 7 edges of the band 1 respectively. The fastening means comprises a hook part 2a and loop part 2b. Three hooks 2a are provided on the belt 1 at one end thereof and three rows of longitudinally spaced loops 2bl, 2b2 and 2b3, are provided at the other end 3 for reasons to be explained later. The band is made of a fine mesh material 8 which is preferably stretchable in the two directions indicated by arrows A and B.

The band 1 is constructed from two layers of said stretchable material 8, namely an outer layer 8a, and an inner layer 8b. These layers 8a, 8b are stitched together along seams 9 and 10 which also attach the elastic strips 4 and 5 in their extended condition to the upper and lower edges 6,7 of the band 1 respectively.

Accordingly, in its relaxed state, the material 8 of the band lis ruffled along its length.

Pockets 11a, llb, 11c are formed between the two layers 8a, 8b of the band 1, and are accessible through access openings 12a, 12b, 12c formed in the upper edge 6 of the outer layer 8a of material of the band 1. Elastic strips 14a, 14b, 14c in their extended condition are attached to edges 13a, 13b, 13c of the cut out sections 12a-c respectively during manufacture of the garment.

In use, the band 1 is stretched to fit around the user's waist as a belt and is retained in position by connecting the remote ends 3 together using the fastening means 2a, 2b (see Figure 2). The band can be made to make a snug fit against the user's body by selecting the appropriate loops 2bl-3 to engage with the hook portion 2a according to the circumference of the users waist and to ensure a comfortable fit.

When the band is worn, the elastic strips 4 and 5 are stretched from their relaxed state, and the material 8 of the band 1 is held taut and it is no longer ruffled.

Instead it is smooth and flat against the user's body but under slight tension.

Once in this state on the user's body, the band can be used to store personal items such as a mobile telephone, credit cards, keys or money, and these items will be securely stowed on the users person, and may be concealed from view by any outer garment which the user may choose to wear over the top of the invention.

When the band is worn, the elastic strips 14a-c around the pocket edges 13a-c are not fully stretched so they can be further stretched when an article is to be inserted in one of the pockets 1 la-lie. To insert an item into a pocket 11a-c, the user enlarges the pocket by stretching the elastic 14a-c around the pocket edge 13a-c thereby widening it sufficiently to allow the item to be inserted therein.

Once the item is through the opening to the pocket 11a-c, and in place, the pocket edge elastic 14a-c contracts again, thereby narrowing the pocket entrance and retaining the item therein. The item is additionally held in place within the pocket 11a-c by the tension created by the stretch material 8

of the band 1. The stretch properties of the material 8 in directions A and B further contribute to holding the item securely in place in the pocket.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that items stowed in the pockets 11a-c are inaccessible to any potential thief and thereby much more secure than if they were being carried in a bag or loose in a pocket in an outer garment. Due to the snug fit of the garment of the invention on the user's body, the items stowed are also not obtrusive and do not hinder movement or cause discomfort to the user.

Furthermore, the garment just described can be manufactured so that when worn around the waist of the user under conventional lower outer garments, any visible top part of it gives the appearance of normal underwear, while the personal items stowed in the pockets 11a-c therein, remain concealed from view.

To remove items from the pockets lla-c of the band 1, the user reverses the insertion process described above.

Figure 3 shows an alternative garment of the present invention, which comprises a tubular armlet 20 whose opposite edges 23 are permanently joined together by stitching along a seam 25 along section C. However, over a section D, the ends 23 of the armlet 20 are releasably attached to each other by fastening means 27 in the form of a zip fastener. Elastic strips 28,29 are attached around ends 31,32 of the armlet 20 respectively, and are held in place by stitched seams 33,34. The material 35 from which the armlet 20 is constructed is the same as that used in the garment shown in Figures 1 and 2, namely a fine mesh, preferably stretchable in the two directions indicated by arrows E and F. The armlet 20 is constructed of two layers of said material 35, namely an outer layer 35a and an inner layer 35b, held together by the stitching at seams 33,34, and also along seam 25. When the armlet 20 and the elastic strips 28,29 are not stretched, the material 35 stitched to the elastic strips 28, 29 is ruffled.

Referring now to Figure 4, a pocket 37 is formed between the two layers 35a, 35b of material 35, and is defined by partitioning stitching 38 (which also acts to hold

the two layers 35a, 35b of material together). The pocket 37 is accessible through an aperture 40 in the outer layer 35awhich has an elastic strip 41 is attached to its edge 42. The elastic strip 41 is stitched to the edge 42 of the aperture 40 so as to gather the edge 42 together in its normal un-stretched state and make aperture 40 as small as possible. A flap 44 of material 35 is stitched inside the pocket 37, and held in place by the partitioning stitching 38 and seam 33 attaching the elastic strip 28 to the armlet 20. Edge 45 of the flap 44 is not stitched to the inner layer 35b of material 35 for reasons which will be explained hereafter.

When in use, the armlet 20 is worn as a cuff on the wrist and lower forearm of a user. The armlet 20 is slipped over the hand and when in position on the lower forearm, the zipper 27 is fastened so joining ends 23 of the armlet 20 together.

Fitting the armlet 20 on the forearm stretches the elastic strips 28,29 so the previously ruffled material 35 is stretched and held taut on the arm, thereby lying smooth and flat against the user's skin. Once the armlet 20 is in this position on the user's arm, the pocket 37 can then be used to hold personal items, such as keys, cards, or more particularly, a mobile phone.

An item to be held in the pocket 37 is inserted in much the same manner as previously described with reference to the garment shown in Figures 1 and 2.

The elastic 42 is stretched to widen the aperture 40 so that the item can be inserted into the pocket 37. When it is inserted as far as possible into the pocket 37, the flap 44 can be positioned over the end of the item still protruding from the aperture 40. The outer layer of the material 35a and the flap 44 are thereby stretched taut over the item in the pocket 37, which is thereby held securely in place within the armlet 20 on the user's wrist and forearm.

The user can conceal the armlet 20 and item (s) stowed in the pocket 37 under conventional outer garments, or if so desired, wear the band 20 openly as an anti-crime fashion garment. In either instance, access to any item (s) stowed in the pocket 37 is made difficult for potential thieves, so the risk of having them

stolen is substantially eliminated. Items stowed in the pocket 37 are removed by reversing the insertion process described above.

A further benefit of the armlet 20 is that since the material 35 is a fine mesh, and therefore translucent, the keys and screen of a mobile phone placed in the pocket 37 are clearly visible through the material, so the user can operate the mobile phone without having to remove it from the pocket 37.