The performance of scintillating fibre detectors was studied with electrons at the spectrometer facility of the Mainz microtron MAMI, as well as in a 12C beam of 2 AGeV energy and in a beam of different particle species at GSI. Multi-anode photomultipliers were used to read out one or more bundles of 128 fibres each in different geometries. For electrons a time resolution of FWHM ∼ 1 ns was measured in a single detector plane with a detection efficiency ε > 99 % . A time resolution of 310 ps (FWHM) between two planes of fibres was achieved for carbon ions, leading to a FWHM ∼ 220 ps for a single detector. The hit position residual was measured with a width of FWHM = 0.27 mm . The variation in the measured energy deposition was Δ E / E = 15 –20% (FWHM) for carbon ions. In addition, the energy response to p / π + / d particles was studied. Based on the good detector performance fibre hodoscopes will be constructed for the K aos/A1 spectrometer at MAMI and for the HypHI experiment at GSI.