title: Editing .htaccess for a Wordpress install in a subdirectory
body: <p>I have two Wordpress installs on the same domain. One at the top level and one at www.domain.co.uk/WP</p>
  
  <p>Currently both installs are working fine.</p>
  
  <p>I want to edit the .htaccess file in /WP to redirect all visitors except those from our (static) IP address to an "under construction" page. </p>
  
  <p>However when I make ANY modifications to the .htaccess file in /WP (even just adding a space in a comment) I get an Internal Server Error 500 for any page under /WP. </p>
  
  <p>If I remove the changes to the .htaccess file and re-upload it, I STILL get the error (on several IPs). If I restore a backup (which as far as I can see is identical to the "new" file) without making ANY changes the error goes away. </p>
  
  <p>I can edit the .htaccess file for the top-level install fine and the changes are reflected.</p>
  
  <p>I'm very confused here as to what's going on. As I said both installs are working as expected apart from this so my permalink settings etc should be OK. </p>
  
  <p>The General settings in the /WP install are pointing both Wordpress Address and Site Address to /WP</p>
  
  <p>Here's the .htaccess file for the /WP install:</p>
  
  <p><code> </p>
  
  <pre><code># BEGIN Better WP Security
  Options -Indexes
  
  # Begin HackRepair.com Blacklist
  RewriteEngine on
  # Abuse Agent Blocking
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^BlackWidow [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Bolt\ 0 [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Bot\ mailto:craftbot\@yahoo\.com [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} CazoodleBot [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^ChinaClaw [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Custo [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Default\ Browser\ 0 [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^DIIbot [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^DISCo [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} discobot [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Download\ Demon [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^eCatch [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ecxi [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EirGrabber [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EmailCollector [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EmailSiphon [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EmailWolf [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Express\ WebPictures [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^ExtractorPro [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EyeNetIE [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^FlashGet [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^GetRight [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^GetWeb! [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Go!Zilla [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Go-Ahead-Got-It [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^GrabNet [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Grafula [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} GT::WWW [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} heritrix [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^HMView [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} HTTP::Lite [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} HTTrack [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ia_archiver [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} IDBot [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} id-search [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} id-search\.org [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Image\ Stripper [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Image\ Sucker [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} Indy\ Library [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^InterGET [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Internet\ Ninja [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^InternetSeer\.com [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} IRLbot [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ISC\ Systems\ iRc\ Search\ 2\.1 [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Java [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^JetCar [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^JOC\ Web\ Spider [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^larbin [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^LeechFTP [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} libwww [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} libwww-perl [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Link [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} LinksManager.com_bot [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} linkwalker [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} lwp-trivial [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Mass\ Downloader [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Maxthon$ [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} MFC_Tear_Sample [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^microsoft\.url [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} Microsoft\ URL\ Control [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^MIDown\ tool [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Mister\ PiX [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} Missigua\ Locator [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Mozilla\.*Indy [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Mozilla\.*NEWT [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^MSFrontPage [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Navroad [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^NearSite [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^NetAnts [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^NetSpider [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Net\ Vampire [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^NetZIP [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Nutch [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Octopus [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Offline\ Explorer [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Offline\ Navigator [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^PageGrabber [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} panscient.com [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Papa\ Foto [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^pavuk [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} PECL::HTTP [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^PeoplePal [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^pcBrowser [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} PHPCrawl [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} PleaseCrawl [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^psbot [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^RealDownload [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^ReGet [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Rippers\ 0 [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} SBIder [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^SeaMonkey$ [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^sitecheck\.internetseer\.com [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^SiteSnagger [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^SmartDownload [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} Snoopy [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} Steeler [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^SuperBot [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^SuperHTTP [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Surfbot [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^tAkeOut [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Teleport\ Pro [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Toata\ dragostea\ mea\ pentru\ diavola [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} URI::Fetch [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} urllib [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} User-Agent [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^VoidEYE [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Web\ Image\ Collector [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Web\ Sucker [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} Web\ Sucker [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} webalta [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebAuto [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^[Ww]eb[Bb]andit [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} WebCollage [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebCopier [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebFetch [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebGo\ IS [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebLeacher [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebReaper [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebSauger [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Website\ eXtractor [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Website\ Quester [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebStripper [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebWhacker [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebZIP [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} Wells\ Search\ II [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} WEP\ Search [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Wget [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Widow [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WWW-Mechanize [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WWWOFFLE [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Xaldon\ WebSpider [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} zermelo [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Zeus [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Zeus\.*Webster [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ZyBorg [NC]
  RewriteRule ^.* - [F,L]
  # Abuse bot blocking rule end
  # End HackRepair.com Blacklist
  &lt;IfModule mod_rewrite.c&gt;
  RewriteEngine On
  
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_METHOD} ^(TRACE|DELETE|TRACK) [NC]
  RewriteRule ^(.*)$ - [F,L]
  
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_METHOD} POST
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^(.*)wp-comments-post\.php*
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^(.*)co.uk.*
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://jetpack\.wordpress\.com/jetpack-comment/ [OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^$
  RewriteRule ^(.*)$ - [F,L]
  
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} \.\.\/ [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^.*\.(bash|git|hg|log|svn|swp|cvs) [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} etc/passwd [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} boot\.ini [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ftp\:  [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} http\:  [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} https\:  [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} (\&lt;|%3C).*script.*(\&gt;|%3E) [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} mosConfig_[a-zA-Z_]{1,21}(=|%3D) [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} base64_encode.*\(.*\) [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^.*(\[|\]|\(|\)|&lt;|&gt;|ê|"|;|\?|\*|=$).* [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^.*(&amp;#x22;|&amp;#x27;|&amp;#x3C;|&amp;#x3E;|&amp;#x5C;|&amp;#x7B;|&amp;#x7C;).* [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^.*(%24&amp;x).* [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^.*(127\.0).* [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^.*(%0|%A|%B|%C|%D|%E|%F).* [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^.*(globals|encode|localhost|loopback).* [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^.*(request|select|concat|insert|union|declare).* [NC]
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} !^loggedout=true
  RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} !^action=rp
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_COOKIE} !^.*wordpress_logged_in_.*$
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://maps\.googleapis\.com(.*)$
  RewriteRule ^(.*)$ - [F,L]
  
  &lt;/IfModule&gt;
  # END Better WP Security
  
  # Switch rewrite engine off in case this was installed under HostPay.
  RewriteEngine Off
  
  SetEnv DEFAULT_PHP_VERSION 53
  
  DirectoryIndex index.cgi index.php
  
  # BEGIN WordPress
  &lt;IfModule mod_rewrite.c&gt;
  RewriteEngine On
  RewriteBase /WP/
  RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
  RewriteRule . /WP/index.php [L]
  &lt;/IfModule&gt;
  
  # END WordPress
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Here is the .htaccess file for the top-level install (which, as you can see at the bottom I can edit without killing the install):</p>
  
  <pre># BEGIN Better WP Security
  # Begin HackRepair.com Blacklist
  RewriteEngine on
  # Abuse Agent Blocking
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^BlackWidow [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Bolt\ 0 [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Bot\ mailto:craftbot\@yahoo\.com [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} CazoodleBot [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^ChinaClaw [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Custo [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Default\ Browser\ 0 [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^DIIbot [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^DISCo [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} discobot [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Download\ Demon [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^eCatch [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ecxi [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EirGrabber [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EmailCollector [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EmailSiphon [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EmailWolf [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Express\ WebPictures [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^ExtractorPro [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^EyeNetIE [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^FlashGet [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^GetRight [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^GetWeb! [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Go!Zilla [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Go-Ahead-Got-It [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^GrabNet [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Grafula [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} GT::WWW [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} heritrix [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^HMView [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} HTTP::Lite [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} HTTrack [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ia_archiver [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} IDBot [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} id-search [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} id-search\.org [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Image\ Stripper [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Image\ Sucker [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} Indy\ Library [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^InterGET [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Internet\ Ninja [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^InternetSeer\.com [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} IRLbot [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ISC\ Systems\ iRc\ Search\ 2\.1 [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Java [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^JetCar [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^JOC\ Web\ Spider [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^larbin [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^LeechFTP [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} libwww [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} libwww-perl [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Link [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} LinksManager.com_bot [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} linkwalker [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} lwp-trivial [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Mass\ Downloader [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Maxthon$ [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} MFC_Tear_Sample [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^microsoft\.url [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} Microsoft\ URL\ Control [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^MIDown\ tool [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Mister\ PiX [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} Missigua\ Locator [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Mozilla\.*Indy [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Mozilla\.*NEWT [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^MSFrontPage [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Navroad [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^NearSite [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^NetAnts [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^NetSpider [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Net\ Vampire [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^NetZIP [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Nutch [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Octopus [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Offline\ Explorer [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Offline\ Navigator [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^PageGrabber [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} panscient.com [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Papa\ Foto [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^pavuk [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} PECL::HTTP [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^PeoplePal [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^pcBrowser [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} PHPCrawl [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} PleaseCrawl [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^psbot [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^RealDownload [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^ReGet [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Rippers\ 0 [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} SBIder [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^SeaMonkey$ [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^sitecheck\.internetseer\.com [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^SiteSnagger [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^SmartDownload [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} Snoopy [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} Steeler [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^SuperBot [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^SuperHTTP [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Surfbot [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^tAkeOut [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Teleport\ Pro [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Toata\ dragostea\ mea\ pentru\ diavola [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} URI::Fetch [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} urllib [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} User-Agent [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^VoidEYE [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Web\ Image\ Collector [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Web\ Sucker [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} Web\ Sucker [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} webalta [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebAuto [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^[Ww]eb[Bb]andit [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} WebCollage [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebCopier [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebFetch [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebGo\ IS [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebLeacher [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebReaper [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebSauger [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Website\ eXtractor [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Website\ Quester [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebStripper [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebWhacker [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WebZIP [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} Wells\ Search\ II [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} WEP\ Search [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Wget [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Widow [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WWW-Mechanize [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^WWWOFFLE [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Xaldon\ WebSpider [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} zermelo [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^Zeus [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^(.*)Zeus\.*Webster [NC,OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ZyBorg [NC]
  RewriteRule ^.* - [F,L]
  # Abuse bot blocking rule end
  # End HackRepair.com Blacklist
  &lt;IfModule mod_rewrite.c&gt;
  RewriteEngine On
  
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_METHOD} POST
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^(.*)wp-comments-post\.php*
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^(.*)co.uk.*
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://jetpack\.wordpress\.com/jetpack-comment/ [OR]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^$
  RewriteRule ^(.*)$ - [F,L]
  
  &lt;/IfModule&gt;
  # END Better WP Security
  
  # BEGIN WordPress
  &lt;IfModule mod_rewrite.c&gt;
  RewriteEngine On
  RewriteBase /
  RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
  RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
  &lt;/IfModule&gt;
  
  # END WordPress
  # UNDER CONTSRUCTION - CODE WORKS
  
  #Options +FollowSymlinks
  #RewriteEngine on
  #RewriteCond %{REMOTE_ADDR} !^95\.172\.23\.238$
  #RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !construction\.html
  #RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /construction.html [R=302,L]
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Any pointers at all greatly appreciated! My only possible thought is it's something to do with Better WP Security??</p>