Car boot lip protection cover

1. A motor vehicle accessory comprising: a sheet of flexible material for positioning inside a boot of a vehicle, the boot having a floor and side walls and a boot lip and adjacent fender, wherein the sheet comprises a layer of tough material having a high coefficient of friction and a layer of smooth material overlaying the layer of tough material, and the sheet is interchangeable between a stowed position in which it is received within the boot and an external operative position in which the layer of tough material extends over the boot lip and adjacent fender to protect the boot lip and adjacent fender when articles are loaded into or unloaded from the boot and also resist sliding movement of the sheet there across the boot lip, and the layer of smooth material forms a surface over which articles can be slid when they are loaded into or unloaded from the boot.

2. A motor vehicle accessory according to claim 1 , wherein the sheet is further interchangeable between said stowed and external operative positions and an internal operative position in which it extends across the floor of the boot with said layer of tough material having a high coefficient of friction facing upwardly for frictionally gripping an article that is placed on the sheet and the layer of smooth material faces downwardly in contact with the floor of the boot.

3. A motor vehicle accessory according to claim 1 , wherein the layer of tough material comprises a thick layer of rubberised material.

4. A motor vehicle accessory according to claim 3 , wherein the layer of tough material has friction grip formations on its surface for enhancing its frictional grip of the surface on which it is resting.

5. A motor vehicle accessory according to claim 1 , including attachment means mounted on the sheet for attaching the sheet to the floor or side walls of the boot.

6. A motor vehicle accessory according to claim 5 , wherein the attachment means includes a hook and loop fastener and wherein one of the hook and loop parts is mounted on the sheet and the other of the hook and loop parts is mounted on the floor of the boot.

7. A motor vehicle accessory according to claim 1 , wherein the sheet comprises a plurality of sheet portions, and wherein the sheet portions are folded upon themselves in the stowed position with the layer of tough material facing inwardly and the layer of smooth material facing outwardly forming the external surfaces of the folded sheet.

8. A motor vehicle accessory according to claim 7 , wherein the sheet comprises first and second said sheet portions interconnecting each other along one edge of each of the first and second sheet portions and being pivotal relative to each other, the sheet portions being folded on top of each other in the stowed position and opened up to extend substantially linearly in the operative position.

9. A motor vehicle accessory according to claim 8 , wherein the sheet further includes a third anchor portion interconnected with the second sheet portion along an edge opposed to said one edge and pivotal relative thereto.

10. A motor vehicle accessory according to claim 9 , wherein each of the first and second portions are in the form of substantially rectangular panels with the first panel disposed above the second panel in the stowed position, and the third portion is in the form of a substantially thinner rectangular panel, with the third panel being positioned adjacent the second panel and beneath the first panel in the stowed position.

11. A motor vehicle accessory according to claim 9 , wherein the sheet has lines of decreased thickness between adjacent panels so as to permit the pivoting of respectively the first and second panels and the second and third panels relative to each other.

12. A motor vehicle accessory according to claim 11 , wherein the accessory further includes a handle formation on the first panel that is remote from the anchor panel to assist with its manual interchange between said stowed and external operative positions.

13. A motor vehicle accessory comprising:

a sheet of flexible material for positioning inside a boot of a vehicle comprising a layer of tough material having a high coefficient of friction and a layer of smooth material in superimposed relationship with the layer of tough material, the boot having a floor and side walls and a boot lip and adjacent fender, wherein the sheet is interchangeable between an internal operative position in which it extends across the floor of the boot with the layer of tough material facing upwardly to frictionally grip an article placed thereon and the layer of smooth material faces downwardly in contact with the floor, and an external operative position in which the layer of tough material extends over the boot lip and adjacent fender to protect the boot lip and fender when articles are loaded into or unloaded from the boot and resist sliding of the sheet across the boot lip and the layer of smooth material forms a surface over which articles can be slid when loading/unloading articles into and out of the boot.

14. A motor vehicle accessory according to claim 13 , wherein the sheet is interchangeable between said internal and external operative positions and also an internal stowed position within the boot.

15. A motor vehicle accessory according to claim 14 , wherein the sheet comprises a plurality of portions, and wherein said plurality of portions are folded on top of each other in the internal stowed position with the layer of tough material facing inwardly and the layer of smooth material facing outwardly forming the externally facing surface of the folded sheet.

16. A motor vehicle accessory according to claim 13 , further including attachment means mounted on the sheet for attaching the sheet to the floor or walls of the boot.

17. A motor vehicle accessory comprising:

a sheet of flexible material for positioning inside a boot of a vehicle comprising a layer of tough material with a high coefficient of friction and a layer of smooth material overlaying the layer of tough material, the boat having a floor and side walls and a boot lip and an adjacent fender, wherein said sheet is interchangeable between a stowed position in which it is received in the boot and an internal operative position in which it is received within the boot and extends across the floor of the boot with said layer of tough material facing upwardly to assist in stabilising the position of an article stowed within the boot and the layer of smooth material faces downwardly in contact with the floor of the boot.

18. A motor vehicle accessory according to claim 17 , wherein the sheet comprises a plurality of portions, and wherein said plurality of portions are folded on top of each other in the stowed position with the layer of tough material facing inwardly and the layer of smooth material facing outwardly forming the external surfaces of the folded sheet.

19. A motor vehicle accessory according to claim 17 , wherein the sheet is interchangeable between said stowed and operative positions within the boot, and also an external operative position in which it extends across the boot lip with the layer of tough material facing downwardly protecting the lip and adjacent fender and the layer of smooth material faces upwardly forming a surface over which articles can be slid.

20. A motor vehicle accessory according to claim 17 further including attachment means mounted on the sheet for attaching the sheet to the floor or walls of the boot.

21. A motor vehicle comprising:

a car body having a boot having a floor and side walls and a boot lip and rear fender adjacent the boot lip; and

a sheet of flexible material comprising a layer of tough material having a high coefficient of friction and a layer of smooth material overlaying the layer of tough material, wherein the sheet of material can be arranged in an external operative position with said layer of tough material resting on the boot lip to protect the boot lip and adjacent fender and also resist sliding movement of the sheet across the boot lip, and the layer of smooth material faces upwardly forming a surface across which articles can be slid.

22. A motor vehicle according to claim 21 , wherein said sheet of flexible material can also be arranged in an internal operative position on the boot floor with said layer of smooth material facing downwardly and said layer of tough material facing upwardly whereby to stabilise an article placed on the sheet of material during travel of the vehicle.