Hi, do any members know if there is any industry guidance available regarding the placing of barbed/razor wire on a fence surrounding non-domestic premises? A colleague suggested it should be placed at a height of at least 2 metres above ground level with appropriate signage in place but I can't seem to find any guidance which confirms this. Thanks. 

Most suppliers of barbed wire tend to stock warning signs to position along the perimeter at regular intervals to advise potential intruders of the presence of such a device in an attempt to deflect Occupiers Liability.

You also have the Highways Act to contend with. If the barbed wire interferes with lawful use of the right of way you will be asked to remove it. In towns and cities this tends to lead to the installation being within the installers boundary rather than hanging out over public areas.

Your friend has likely summised 2m based on this being above the height of most people and the height which would be permissible for a normal fence without planning permission being required.

However when you move to rural locations livestock fencing using barbed wire is generally lower reaching up from ground level. Again though you will observe that any installtion is made away from interfering with the public thoroughfare.

Most UK Police Forces advise against the use of barbed wire as a domestic deterent because of the occupier liability issue so it may be prudent to discuss such an installation with your insurer.

Always a tricky one as someone pointed out you have the occupier’s liability act, however you also need to ensure you put in place suitable and sufficient measures to manage the risk of people accessing the site. 

Was a big fine and worse a fatality when a number of children entered a building site and drowned down an open manhole, made me review the access to my work site.