Abstract: A brushcutter has a guide wand with a drive head rotatably mounted thereon. A motor rotatably drives the drive head and a cutting head for cutting vegetation is mounted on the drive head and defines a rotational plane. A protective arrangement partially overlaps the cutting tool in the region of the rotational plane and has a downwardly extending wall. A detachable skirt extends from the wall downwardly so as to terminate at an elevation beneath the rotational plane and deflects stones and other hard objects caught by the cutting tool thereby protecting an operator of the brushcutter against injury.