5 is secured e g by fixing screws 6 to the floor 10 surrounding an opening 11 in a building such as a stairwell and the end of a strap 2 of the net is threaded through the slots 9 to secure the strap to the anchor plate 4 the threaded engagement of the strap 2 with the apertures in the anchor 4 allows the distance between the anchor and the outermost intersection point 3 of the net to be adjusted and therefore allows the safety net 1 to be configured for openings of varying sizes the members for securing the anchor plate 4 to the floor of a building are preferably removable members such as screws 6 as shown in fig3 however alternative methods of fixing other than screws may be used the manner in which the anchor is fixed results in a shear force being placed on the means of securing the anchor to the building and the hinge 9 and 10 in the anchor when tension is placed on the straps 2 when the safety net is to be used for a stairwell opening 11 in a multi storey building as shown in fig6 and 9 the strap ends on at least one side of the opening 11 may be required to be attached to an expansion joint 12 of the building structure rather than to the floor 10 surrounding the opening 11 for this purpose a hinged anchor plate 14 such as shown in fig5 and.