The present invention relates to a protection barrier, and method of deploying the same. The protection barrier has many applications such as a barrier for protecting a shore from contamination by oil arising, for example, from an oil spill. A further application is of the barrier forming a security barrier for crowd control purposes. The present invention particularly relates to a rapidly deployable and easily transportable crowd control security barrier which can preferably be recovered after use, and re-used.

In relation to a first application of a protection barrier, shoreline contamination is one of the many problems and dangers posed when oil escapes, for whatever reason, into a body of water and drifts, or is blown, towards the shoreline.

While problems are associated with collecting any such water-borne oil, it can also prove particularly advantageous if as much oil as possible is prevented from washing up on the shoreline and so limit the damage by potential contamination and to limit the effect on the shoreline eco-system.

Once it is recognized that, for example, an oil spill has occurred that might be heading towards a particular area of coastline, steps can be taken to deploy some form of barrier arrangement seeking to prevent the water-borne oil from washing up on the shore.

Quite often however, geographical and/or geological characteristics at shorelines might serve to present a variety of obstacles to the delivery and deployment of a barrier system thereby limiting the effectiveness with which the barrier system can serve their purpose. Such systems that do not exhibit ease and compactness of storage, and ease of transportation, may not therefore be available for deployment.

A variety of barrier systems are known such as that of US Patent 5 591 333 which discloses a barrier assembly including a plurality of oil-impermeable sheets. These are arranged to form a curtain-type barrier to prevent the oil washing up on a shoreline. However, the ease and efficiency with which the oil-impermeable sheets can be assembled to form the barrier system is disadvantageousiy limited and also the structural integrity and reliability is likewise limited and so potentially unreliable given the potential wide variety of environmental conditions that the barrier might have to withstand. Of course, the more severe the environmental conditions are, the greater the damaging effect of the oil spill is likely to be and so the more important the stability and structural integrity of the barrier.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved protection barrier; in particular, a protection barrier which does not suffer from the disadvantages mentioned heretofore in relation to the protection of a shoreline.

In relation to a further application of a protection barrier, security barriers which are also the subject of this invention may be used for temporary crowd control purposes, for example at conferences, summits, concerts, festivals, marches and potentially hostile congregations of people. In some cases, security barriers may also be deployed to afford temporary or semi-permanent access protection to protect military, diplomatic or civilian installations from personnel assault. For convenience, such security barriers will be referred to as crowd control security barriers.

One common type of security barrier currently in widespread use comprises a wire mesh fence panel extending between two posts, each of which is anchored in a supporting block, generally of concrete or recycled rubber. Such security barriers have been deemed appropriate for many uses, but they are not sufficiently stable or robust to withstand a determined assault, either by an individual or by a crowd attempting to breach the barrier. Other common types of security barrier are based upon similar principles, although the nature of the panel and its means of support may vary somewhat.

WO-A-90/12160 discloses wire mesh cage structures useful as gabions, security barriers with a different function from the crowd control security barriers of the present invention. These gabions are primarily for securing areas against assault by small arms fire, rockets missiles and vehicle-borne explosives, and also by elemental forces such as floods, landslides, avalanches and the like. The gabion cage structure is made up of pivotally interconnected open mesh work frames which are connected together under factory conditions so that the cage can fold concertina- wise to take a flattened form for transportation to site, where it can be erected to take an open multi-compartmental form for filling with a suitable fill material, such as sand, soil, earth or rocks.

WO-A-00/40810 also concerns a multi-compartmental gabion-type security barrier which folds concertina-wise for transportation, and which comprises side walls extending along the length of the multi-compartmental security barrier, the side walls being connected at spaced intervals along the length of the security barrier by partition walls which are formed from two releasably connected sections, which after use of the security barrier can be released, and the security barrier unzipped for recovery purposes.

Existing crowd control security barriers have certain disadvantages with respect to their efficacy, particularly in the face of determined assault. Although different problems pertain to different types of barrier, generally they are too easy to scale, topple, dismantle and/or otherwise breach. Gabion type security barriers have not generally been used as crowd control security barriers, and are generally not suited for this purpose.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved security barrier; in particular, a crowd control security barrier which is robust, and not easily breached.

The present invention seeks to provide for a barrier and method of deploying the same having advantages over known such barriers and methods.

In particular, the present invention seeks to provide for a barrier that can be deployed having a relatively high degree of structural integrity whilst being relatively easily transported, delivered and deployed from a configuration of compact storage, in a relatively quick and simple manner, without the necessity for particularly skilled/trained personnel. In particular, the present invention can seek to rely upon various readily/freely available materials likely to be found at the coastal site for enhancing the stability and structural integrity of the barrier.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an articulated protection barrier, the barrier comprising a plurality of panels pivotally connected to form an articulated panel line and arranged such that, when deployed, various of the panels serve to define compartments spaced along the panel line and arranged to receive stabilising fill material.

Thus, the invention provides an articulating barrier comprising a multiplicity of panels pivotally connected together to form an articulating panel line, the panel line being punctuated by a series of polygonal compartments for receiving a fill material.

Preferably the polygonal compartments are openable for facilitating removal of a fill material on recovery of the barrier.

By "punctuated" is meant that the polygonal compartments are space along the panel line, leaving gaps between compartments, in which gap the panel line is present; but no polygonal compartment.

The invention is therefore advantageous in that, through use of the plurality of pivotally connected panels, a barrier of appropriate length and structural rigidity can be readily deployed through a quick and relatively easy formation of the panel line with spaced compartments. Insofar as the compartments are formed from various of the plurality of panels of the panel line, structural rigidity of the barrier is insured insofar as the compartments will comprise integral elements of the panel line.

The requirement that the compartments are spaced along the panel line (with gaps therebetween where the panel line but no polygonal compartment is present) - in other words that the compartments punctuate the panel line - is highly advantageous because of the resulting flexibility of the barrier. The deployed barrier thus comprises both uncompartmentalised panel line portions and compartmentalised panel line portions, preferably interspersed so that a compartmentalised panel line portion is adjacent a non- compartmentalised panel line portion. This arrangement means that in the deployed configuration the barrier is easily able to articulate around obstacles, or turn corners, or otherwise be configured to meet the requirements of the terrain.

While, as noted above, the barrier can be deployed in a quick and efficient manner, the ready pivotal connection between the panels allows for easy and compact storage of the barrier. Transportation of the plurality of connected panels to the exact location where the barrier can be best deployed is therefore greatly assisted. This may be, for example, at a shore line or a crowd control incident.

The term "spaced" used herein is intended to confer that the compartments have some form of gap between one another, whether or not the gap is constituted by a non- compartmentalised panel. It could be said that the compartments are not directly connected to one another in this sense.

The compartmentalised panels defining a compartment may be punctuated by at least one non-compartmentalised panel.

The compartments may be separated by at least one non-compartmentalised panel.

At least a portion of the panel line may have compartments which are spaced regularly. Alternatively or additionally, at least a portion of the panel line may have compartments which are spaced irregularly.

The defined barrier thus enables a panel line to be formed while minimising the number of compartments necessary to maintain the structural integrity and efficacy of the barrier. By minimising the number of compartments, labour is reduced together with cost and complexity of deployment. By reducing the level of complexity of deployment, the barrier becomes available for use by lesser skilled personnel which is also advantageous in that the barrier may accommodate use by a greater number of people.

Further, stable deployment is readily assisted insofar as any freely available material found at the shoreline site, for example, can comprise the fill material required to be introduced into the compartments.

To assist with the structural rigidity, while maintaining ease of transportation, each of the panels can comprise a framework panel which, as one example, can comprise open mesh panels.

The barrier can further comprise an oil-resistive lining material arranged to extend over the face of a panel.

As a should be appreciated, any appropriate material, such as a geotextile material, can be employed as the liner and indeed, as a possible alternative, the material of the panel itself can exhibit at least some form of oil resistive characteristic. if a form of liner is employed this can be provided in a single, or multi-, layer configuration as required.

Such oil-resistive lining material can further serve to act as means for retaining the fill material within each compartment.

Yet further, the oil-resistive lining material can be arranged to extend over a plurality of the said pivotally connected panels and thereby also extend over the region of pivotal articulation between adjacent panels.

In one particular embodiment, a sheet of oil-resistive lining material extends along one face of the articulated panel line. If required, the lining material can be arranged to be attached to the plurality of panels in situ or can be provided integral with the panels.

With regard to a particular embodiment of the present invention, adjacent panels are pivotally connected at adjacent edges to advantageously assist with the manner in which the articulated panel line can be configured, manipulated and adjusted as required.

In particular, adjacent panels can be pivotally connected by means of at least one intermediate connecting member.

Such an intermediate connecting member can comprise at least one loop arranged to pass through an opening in the edge regions of adjacent panels.

Preferably, the intermediate connecting member comprises an elongate helical coil member extending substantially along the length of the edge regions of adjacent panels and through apertures provided therein so as to link adjacent panels in the said pivotal manner.

According to a particular advantage to be discussed further below, the intermediate connecting member is arranged to be interleaved with a like connecting member connecting a further pair of panels. This serves to align the openings of each of the intermediate connecting members and which can be arranged to receive an elongate securing member extending therethrough.

In particular, respective intermediate connecting members are arranged to be interleaved and aligned in a coaxial manner.

As an alternative, the respective intermediate connecting members can be arranged to be secured adjacent one another in a side-by-side manner and with elongate fixing members passing there-through. If required the fixing members can be arranged to extend into the surface upon-which the barrier sits for further improved security of connection for the respective adjacent panels.

In one example, the fixing members can comprise the two legs of an elongate U-shape fixing pin.

As will be appreciated, a variety of potential shapes and configurations for the panel line and compartments can be provided and the compartments can comprise polygonal compartments. In one example, the compartments can comprise three-sided compartments therefore having a triangular transverse cross section.

In this manner, the plurality of the panels can be pivoted and connected at appropriate locations so as to form a series of triangular compartments wherein an apex of each triangle can serve to connect the compartment to the panel line.

As will be appreciated from the following description, release of this connection at the said apex effectively serves to "open" the compartment to allow for easy removal of the fill material from the compartment when the barrier is to be "decommissioned" and removed from its shoreline location.

The barrier arrangement can further comprise a plurality of liner receptacles arranged to be at least partially filled with fill material and then deposited within a compartment as required.

In one further embodiment, the barrier can comprise a continuous line of panels and, in particular, the panels can be folded as appropriate about the points of pivotal connection for efficiency of storage in a concertina-wise manner.

In one particular embodiment, various pairs of the panels are arranged to be folded, and joined, at the point of pivotal connection so as to form the said compartments as required. In one or more embodiments, a barrier may be formed so that at least one of said compartments is bounded by a front panel; a rear panel and/or side panel(s); and a bottom panel.

Of course, in some embodiments, the bottom panel may be replaced by a liner or the like.

It may be that when the barrier is deployed, the height of the rear panel and/or side panel(s) is lower than the height of the front panel.

It may be that the height of the rear/side panel(s) is not more than about 1.52m [5 feet].

It may be that the height of the front panel is at least about 1.82m [6 feet].

The fill material may bear upon the bottom panel and be effective, through connection of the bottom panel to at least two of the front panel, the rear panel and/or side panel(s), to prevent toppling of the barrier when pushed or pulled from the front.

The invention can further provide for an articulated protection barrier as defined above with the compartments at least partially filled with fill material.

The fill material may comprise big bag filled or part-filled with sand, earth, soil, stones, rocks, rubble, concrete, debris, snow, ice, water, and combinations of two or more thereof.

According to a further aspect, the present invention comprehends the use of a barrier as defined herein in protecting a shoreline from contamination, preferably protecting a shoreline from contamination by oil.

According to yet a further aspect, the present invention contemplates the use of a barrier as defined herein in the form of a security barrier, preferably as a crowd control security barrier. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming an articulated protection barrier, comprising providing a plurality of pivotally connected panels to form an articulated panel line, and further providing various of the panels to define compartments spaced along the panel line and adding stabilising fill material to the said compartments.

The barrier may be provided at situ at a shoreline for protecting it from contamination, preferably protecting it from contamination by water-borne oil.

The barrier may be provided in the form of a security barrier in situ at a crowd control incident.

As will be appreciated from the above, the method can include a step of introducing an oil-resistive liner to the panels and, advantageously, in a manner such that the liner extends over the face of the panels and at least over the point of pivotal connection between at least one pair of adjacent panels.

Advantageously, the method can include a step of forming a plurality of polygonal compartments.

In particular, a plurality of three-sided compartments can be formed with a triangular transverse cross section.

Advantageously, various panels of the panel line can be folded and connected about the points of pivotal connection so as to define triangular compartments each having an apex connecting to the panel line. As noted above, the connection of two panels at the said apex can be effectively, simply and quickly open the compartment to assist with removal of the fill material therefrom. Further, the shore-protection barrier can be formed by extending an array of panels stored in a compact concertina-wise manner.

In a particularly efficient embodiment of the present invention, the process of extending the stored panels serves to allow for formation of the compartments whereas, as an alternative, and as noted, further steps of folding and connecting various of the panels once extended from the stored position can be employed so as to form the compartments.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment, adjacent panels are pivotally connected by way of respective loop members which can readily be located adjacent one another, or interleaved to allow for the secure inter-engagement of panels so as to form the said compartments.

Such secure inter-engagement can be achieved by the insertion of a securing member through the interleaved loop members.

As noted above, each of the loop members can comprise a turn of a helical coil connection member.

According to yet a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a shore-protection barrier and including a step of deploying a barrier such as that defined above.

According to another aspect, the present invention encompasses a method of forming a crowd control security barrier including a step of deploying a barrier as defined herein.

The invention is described further hereinafter by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig 1 is a plan view of a protection barrier according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig 2 is a front perspective vie w of the barrier of Fig 1.

Fig 3A-3C illustrate how a panel line arising within the present invention embodiment of Figs 1 and 2 can be manipulated through folding of the various panels about points of pivotal connection so as to form the spaced compartments of Figs 1 and 2;

Figs 4A and 4B are schematic plan views of examples of further configurations for the spaced compartments and related panel lines according to further embodiments of the present invention;

Fig 5A is a schematic plan view of a panel line of a barrier embodying the present invention;

Fig 5B illustrates the expanded/deployed configuration of the panels of Fig 5A;

Fig 6 illustrates adjacent edge regions of adjacent open meshwork panels forming a panel line of the present invention;

Fig 7 illustrates edge regions of adjacent panels each having respective pivotal connection members;

Fig 8 illustrates the secure interleaving of the two pivotal connection members of Fig 7 and according to one embodiment of the invention;

Fig 9 is a plan view of the interleaved pivotal connection members of Fig 8; and

Fig 10 illustrates another configuration of pivotal connecting joint for adjacent panels.

Fig 1 l a illustrates an alternative embodiment of a protection barrier, as a security barrier, formed in accordance with the present invention in a pre-deployed state. Fig 1 l b illustrates the barrier of Fig 1 l a in a deployed state.

It should be appreciated that the following discussion relates only to specific illustrated embodiments of the present invention and the concept is in no way limited to the details thereof.

Indeed, various features illustrated in the different figures can be used in any appropriate combination so as to form a barrier exhibiting a wide variety of potential configurations.

However, turning first to Fig 1 , there is illustrated one particularly advantageous configuration of a panel line forming a barrier according to the present invention.

Shown in plan view there is provided a barrier 10 deployed at a coastal location having a shoreline represented by a beach 12 bordering a body of water such as the sea 14.

As will be appreciated, the barrier in this illustrated example is deployed so as to stand on the shoreline at a location generally where the beach 12 meets the sea 14.

In this illustrated example, the barrier 10 is formed from a folded/pivoted series line of connected panels 16-44 each of which is connected to its neighbor in the series line by means of a pivotal connecting member 46 allowing for a wide degree of pivotal movement of adjacent panels 16-44. The panels forming the panel line serve to define the length to which the barrier extends along the beach 12. Also, at spaced locations along the panel line, there are provided three compartments which are arranged to receive fill material serving to anchor the barrier in place and impart suitable structural stability and integrity having regard to the wide variety of environmental conditions that might arise in such coastal regions.

Further, along the sea-facing sides of the panels there is provided a oil-resistive liner material 48 which serves to prevent the passage of water-borne oil from the body of water 14 to the beach 12. As will be appreciated, the oil-resistant sheet liner material 48 can comprise any oleophobic material as required and can comprise a single sheet or a plurality of separate sheets.

As a particular example, the sheet 48 comprises a sheet of geotextile material.

The configuration of the embodiment illustrated in Fig 1 is further illustrated with reference to Fig 2 which represents a front perspective view of the barrier of Fig 1.

Here, the height to which the barrier can extend is clearly illustrated and which is determined by the height of the plurality of panels 16-44.

Of course, although a series of three compartments is illustrated by the panels 16, 18, 20; 26, 28 to 30 and 36, 38 to 40 any appropriate number and (if required varied) spacing between the compartments can be provided and as may be determined by the local environmental conditions.

Since the vast majority, if not all, of the fill material introduced into the compartments is obtained from appropriate collection/excavation at the location at which the barrier is deployed, if required, a barrier employing a relatively large number of compartments can be provided without actually posing any additional problems with regard to storage and subsequent transport to the shoreline site.

With reference to Fig 2, examples of elongate pivotal connection members in the form of helical coils are further illustrated and which allow for the ready pivoting/folding of the plurality of panels forming the barrier and as is discussed in further detail below.

Turning now however to Figs 3a-3c, there is illustrated a mode of formation of a barrier with spaced compartments such as those illustrated in Figs 1 and 2. As can be seen from Fig 3a, the panel line can initially comprise a relatively straight series extension of a plurality of connected panels 16-44 which, having being stored and delivered in a compact folded form can be extended to a configuration as illustrated in Fig 3a. As noted, adjacent pairs of the panels 16-44 are interconnected by way of respective helical coil connecters A-0 which, as noted above, allow for a high degree of pivotal movement/folding between the various panels of 16-44.

In seeking to form one of the triangular compartments illustrated in Figs 1 and 2, the left hand side of the series of panels is generally pivoted about connector D and also C as illustrated by arrow X is Fig 3A so as to move to a configuration as illustrated in Fig 3B.

Through further movement in the direction of arrow X, and then clockwise movement of panel 16 about helical coil connector B in the direction of arrow Y of Fig 3C, the first of the three triangular compartments is formed.

As will be described further in greater detail, in securely closing the compartment formed by the panel 16, 1 8 and 20, the helical coil A at the free end of panel 16 is arranged to interleave with the helical coil D as illustrated in Fig 3C. Then the respective central longitudinal axis of the coils are substantially aligned and thereby arranged to receive an elongate securing number, such a releasable locking pin, and an example of which is again described further hereinafter. The locking pin serves to securely close the triangular compartment ready for receipt of the stabilising fill material and itself can be driven into the ground to assist such secure closure of the compartment.

As will be appreciated by reference to Fig 3A, various other subsets of the series string of panels 16-44 are pivoted and interconnected by respective interleaved helical coils 46 so as to form the further closed/locked compartments as required.

In the illustrated embodiment of Fig 1 and Fig 2, each of the triangular configurations of the compartments has an apex which effectively connects to, or forms a connection of, the panel line, As will therefore be appreciated, the particular configuration as illustrated in Figs 1 -Fig 3 can be quite readily, and securely, deployed with any appropriate number of upstanding stabilising compartments. Of course, in reverse, and when the barrier is no longer required subsequent to a related "clean-up" operation, the barrier can be quite readily and simply folded away for compact storage/transportation.

That is, each of the three compartments can be easily opened through withdrawal of the releasable locking pin so as to allow the interleaved helical coils of the apex of each of the three triangular compartments to be separated thereby opening each of the compartments from each side so as to allow the fill material to fall out of the compartment and/or be readily removed therefrom. With the. or substantially all of the, stabilising fill material then easily removed from the compartments, the panels can again be folded substantially flat for removal from the shoreline site and ease of transport and subsequent storage.

Of course, any appropriate configuration of panel line, and associated compartments can be provided dependent upon the manner in which the panel string is manipulated, folded and secured and/or dependent upon the nature and configuration of panels that are provided.

Figs 4A and 4B provide schematic plan views of two of the many further alternatives that can be employed. Again, advantageously, each of the compartments is closed by at least one pair of interleaved helical coils which, once secured by means of a locking pin as described in further detail below, can be readily opened to allow for the, at least near, emptying of the fill material.

If the desire to achieve a ready and easy emptying of the compartments is not thought to be a particularly important condition, then an embodiment such as that illustrated in Figs 5A and 5Bb can be provided. Here, a "flat-packed" storage arrangement for a plurality of panels is provided in which the panels are configured to form two compartments C and D separated by three panel members. Such a configuration can be achieved through drawing out the flat/stored panel arrangement of Fig 5A in the direction of arrow A and so as to arrive at a barrier configuration such as that illustrated in Fig 5B. As will be appreciated, while the mere act of drawing out the compact flat stored panels of Fig 5A serves to configure the compartments C and D for receipt of stabilising fill material without requiring any inter- engaging or locking of adjacent panels, the compartments C and D are not so readily emptied once deployment of the barrier is no longer required. However, in some circumstances, this may not be considered to be disadvantageous^ limiting.

As will be appreciated, the panels can be formed of any appropriate material but one particular example comprises an open meshwork panel such as a meshwork lattice of square apertures which can offer relatively light, but rigid, panels for use within the present invention.

With such mesh panels, a particularly advantageous form of interconnecting member allowing ready pivotal motion between adjacent panels comprises a helical coil such as that discussed above and examples of appropriate panels and connecting helical coil are illustrated in Fig 6.

Flere, for example two 22, 24 of the panels of Fig 1 are illustrated and as connected by means of the helical coil connector 46.

Of course, when it is required to form and securely close the compartments of the panel line of the barrier of the present invention, operative personnel can interleave respective helical coil connectors 46 such as those illustrated within Fig 7 and as associated with, for example, the panels 16, 20, 22 of the embodiment of Fig 1.

As will be appreciated, the loops of the helical coils are readily interleaved so as to form an aligned axial opening extending there-through and which is illustrated in Fig 8. The aligned axial opening of the helical coils 46 is arranged for the receipt of a elongate securing members such as a releasable locking pin 48.

Insertion of the releasable locking pin 49 as illustrated in Fig 8 serves securely to close the compartment and at least one end of the locking pin 49 can be provided with a formation so as to prevent accidental removal from its locking position.

Fig 9 is a plan view of part of the locked arrangement illustrated in Fig 8 and to clearly illustrate the manner of overlap and interleaving of the helical coil connectors 46 and the central location of the locking pin 49.

Fig 10 provides an illustration of another variant of the pivotal connecting arrangement of an embodiment of the invention. Here, respective helical coil connectors 46, associated with adjacent mesh panels 22A, 24A are again provided but this time, when seeking to close a compartment in a secure manner, the coils 46 are disposed in a side-by-side manner and the respective legs of an elongate U-shaped locking member 50 then inserted there-through. If appropriate, the legs of the locking member 50 can be arranged to be driven into the surface upon-which the barrier sits at its shoreline location for additional security/stability.

As before, the locking member 50 can serve as a ground location pin arranged to be driven into the surface upon-which the barrier sits when in situ. In this particular illustrated example, the member 50 comprises an elongate staple serving to retain, in a secure manner, connection between the panels 22A, 24A.

However, it should of course be appreciated that the invention is in no way limited to the details of such illustrated pivotal connections. Indeed any form of pivotal/hinged arrangement can be provided between adjacent panels along with any form of securing/locking feature(s) as thought appropriate for the particular circumstances. While providing secure locking of each of the compartments, it should of course be appreciated that the compartments can be readily opened through simple removal of the locking pin 48 and separation of the interleaved helical coils 46 to thereby provide ease of exit for fill material found within each of the compartments.

Further reference to the illustrated embodiments serve to indicate that each of the helical coil connectors can be threaded through mesh apertures and the loose end of the helical coil can be bent/formed to prevent accidental disengagement from the panel.

Referring now to Fig 1 1a, there is illustrated a protection barrier having panels of differing dimensions. In this embodiment, the barrier is particularly suitable as a crowd control security barrier, but may equally be employed in other applications.

The barrier 100 is in a pre-deployed state and comprises a panel line 102 constituted by connected panels described in more detail below.

The panel line 102 comprises a repeating pattern of connected panels. There is a rectangular front panel 104 connected along one of longitudinal edges to the longitudinal edge of an adjacent rectangular side panel 106. The opposite longitudinal edge of the rectangular front panel 104 is attached to a square side panel 108. In turn, the square side panel 108 is connected at its opposite end to a square rear panel 1 10. The lower edge of the square rear panel 1 10 is attached to a square bottom panel 1 12 along one edge. For illustrative purposes, a coil connection 1 14 is shown attaching the rear panel 1 10 to the bottom panel 1 12. It can be seen that the pattern of the panel line; a square rear panel 1 10 having a square bottom panel 1 12; a square side panel 108; a rectangular front panel 104; and a rectangular side panel 106 is repeated therealong.

When in situ, at a crowd control incident for example, the protection barrier 100 may be deployed as illustrated in Fig 1 l b. From Fig l i b, it can be seen that compartments 1 14 and 1 16 are bounded by a rectangular front panel 104; a rectangular side panel 106; a square rear panel 1 10; a square side panel 108; and a square bottom panel 1 12. Here, the bottom panel 1 12 is connected to all four panels 104, 106, 106 and 108. Square rear panel 1 10 also abuts rectangular side panel 106 to form the compartment 1 14.

It can also be seen from Fig 1 l b that when the barrier 100 is deployed, the height of the rear panel 1 10 and side panel 108 is lower than the height of the front panel 104.

In this embodiment, the height of the square rear panel 1 10 and square side panel 108 is not more than about 1.52m [5 feet].

In this embodiment, the height of the front panel is at least about 1.82m [6 feet].

Although not shown, the compartments 1 14 and 1 16 are operable to receive a fill material to prevent toppling of the barrier in its deployed state. The fill material would bear upon the bottom panel 1 12 and would be effective, through connection of the bottom panel 1 12 to the front panel 104, the rear panel 1 10 and side panels 106 and 108, to prevent toppling of the barrier 100 when pushed or pulled from the front.

The stabilising fill material in the compartments 1 14 and 1 16 may be selected from a big bag filled or part-filled with sand, earth, soil, stones, rocks, rubble, concrete, debris, snow, ice, water, and combinations of two or more thereof.

While the embodiment of Fig 1 1 a and l i b illustrates a barrier line 102 in which the compartments 1 14 and 1 16 are regularly spaced, it will be appreciated that in other embodiments at least portions of a barrier line may be formed with irregularly-spaced compartments. This may depend on the particular circumstances and the configuration of the deployment site. As noted above, the invention is not restricted to any of the details of the forgoing embodiment.

Any appropriate configuration or shape of compartment can be formed by any appropriate number of panels and, when fully extended without any compartments being formed the panel string can comprise any number of primary panels and, if required secondary branch panels.

Further, the form and configuration of each panel is in no way limited to those described above. For example, each panel can take on any appropriate form, whether planar or a combination of claim and frame-work and, of course, the main requirement is one of structural unity, ease of pivotal manipulation and compact storage/transportation. A wide variety of shapes and configurations will of course meet this requirement particularly having regard to the different potential environmental conditions.

As noted, the oil-resistive material layer can be provided connected to, or integral with, the panel and/or the panel itself can exhibit at least some degree of oil-resistivity

One particular feature of the present invention is the secure, but quick-release manner of closing the compartments so as to allow for ready emptying when required and it should be appreciated that the helical coils represent just one example o f such an arrangement.

However, helical coils are particularly advantageous insofar as they not only provide for ready closure/locking, but also comprise inherent elements within the barrier allowing for pivotal motion between adjacent panels.