Halifax firm unveils protection barriers to keep Christmas shoppers safe from hostile attacks

Halifax-based Marshalls Landscape Protection, a division of the FTSE 250 paving supplier Marshalls, has launched a new crash-tested hostile vehicle mitigation solution as towns and city centres ramp up preparations for the busy Christmas shopping and markets period.

The RhinoGuard® Steel GateKeeper™ is designed to protect places with high footfall, such as large public realm areas and outside sports stadia, This offers protection against vehicles weighing up to 2.5 tonnes travelling at 30mph.

Marshalls Landscape Protection says the new range, which will see more products added to it in the coming months, represents a unique offer to the market by providing a pedestrian friendly option with vehicle access points that requires no anchorage, meaning it can be quickly deployed across all surfaces without relying on kerbing or structural aids and with minimal disruption.

The system is completely modular, meaning it is suitable for use in any space, and any element can be removed to allow access for emergency services vehicles owing to its lightweight design.

It is also fully galvanised to give long-term protection against corrosion and available with the option of powder coating and branded customisation.

Jaz Vilkhu, managing director of Marshalls Landscape Protection, said: “We know there is significant demand for an easily deployable, temporary solution to the threat of hostile attacks and accidental vehicle collisions that are less intimidating than crude, concrete blocks.

"This has driven our research and development efforts and the result is a crash-tested, versatile range that doesn’t require pinning to the ground or kerb.

“We’ve already received an order from a sports venue in the US for the product and, as we head into the busy Christmas period and footfall increases in towns and cities, we expect to see it become a common sight up and down the country.”

Marshalls Landscape Protection is part of the Marshalls Group and works with the public sector and businesses to manufacture and recommend street furniture products with the appropriate safety ratings.

Marshalls Group employs approximately 2,300 people in the UK.