People only just realising why fences around the UK are ‘oddly shaped’

People only just realising why fences around the UK are ‘oddly shaped’While UK history is still apparent in plain sight in a lot of places, some details might still leave you baffled to learn had a different purpose at one time, such as some fencesCommentsNewsAlice Sjoberg Social News Reporter10:21, 05 Apr 2026View 2 ImagesPeople have been left wondering why some UK fences have odd kinks (stock image)(Image: In Pictures via Getty Images)People have been left baffled after learning about the historic reason why some fences around the UK are 'oddly shaped' with random kinks in the railing.‌The UK is full of hidden treasures and links to the past - whether it's statues or memorials to highlight different people or events, or something less subtle.‌You're almost guaranteed to come across something historic no matter where you go. However, London is especially full of old, hidden treasures waiting to be explored by people today - and some of them might be hiding right in plain sight.‌But sometimes, these historic artefacts might first just appear to be a 'weird' detail. This is what one person thought, as they went onto Reddit's 'Ask UK' forum to ask why some fences around the UK are designed in a odd way."Why did UK fences designed [sic] like on the picture?" they asked on the post, as they went on to share a photo of a black metal fence.The fence in question had black railing that went in a woven metal mesh, while the top parts are thicker, metal railing which goes out into odd-looking kinks, which is what the Reddit user went on to wonder why they had been designed like that. Turns out, there's a reason for their 'odd' design.‌One Reddit user went on to explain their purpose by saying: "Surplus WWII stretchers, amazingly." Someone else also said: "They are old medical stretchers from WWII same with some bollards are old canons from wars too."The stretchers' original form fol...