Belt fasteners

A belt fastener for fastening together a pair of belt ends including:

• operative fist and second plates having apertures which are configured to be arranged in register with each other in an operative connecting condition wherein the plates span opposing surfaces of a pair of belt ends to be connected, each aperture being configured to permit a shank portion of a bolt to pass there through such that in the operative connecting condition, the shanks of the bolts pass through the aligned apertures of the first plate, belt ends and second plate, nuts which are screw threadedly received by the shanks projecting through the second plate serving to urge the first and second plates into the operative connecting or clamping condition wherein the belt ends are retained or clamped between said plates characterized in that the apertures in the first plate and a portion intermediate a bolt head and a treaded shank portion of the bolt are of generally angular complementary configuration so as to prevent or inhibit rotation of the bolt in the aperture of the first plate in a receiving position wherein the bolt head is substantially in abutment with or in close proximity to an operative outer facing surface of the first plate, the intermediate portion furthermore being deformable so as to provide retaining formations for retaining and inhibiting longitudinal displacement of the bolt relative to the first plate in the receiving position.