Bosses at the Crystal Caves are planning to step up security after elderly tourists were robbed in broad daylight just after leaving the tourist attraction.

A mugger targeted the American couple — who were visiting the Island on the Explorer of the Seas cruise ship — on Monday afternoon as they walked to the bus stop after a trip to the Hamilton Parish caves.

Earlier that day, a 67-year-old British woman had her handbag cut from her shoulder with a knife by an assailant on a motorcycle at the ferry terminal in St. George's. She was uninjured.

In the case of the American couple, the 73-year-old wife was knocked to the ground close to Wilkinson Avenue and had her handbag snatched before the male assailant made off on foot.

Her 74-year-old husband gave chase but the mugger leapt onto the back of a black Honda Scoopy motorcycle and made off towards North Shore Road. A passing trucker and an off-duty police officer pursued the bike but failed to catch it.

Crystal Caves manager Debbie Ray said the couple, from Pennsylvania, were attacked on the main driveway from the caves on the way to Wilkinson Avenue at about 3 p.m.

"A very nice young man from Island Trucking stopped and helped them," she said. "He looked after them and gave them some TLC. The woman didn't appear to be seriously injured. Her arm was bruised and the backside of her pants had some blood.

"She had struck her head but there was no visible sign of any bleeding. I did suggest she have it checked out but she didn't want to go to the hospital. I sent them off in a taxi to Dockyard."

She added: "I felt very badly that it happened at all and did my best to help."

Ms Ray described the mugging as a "wake up call" for the Crystal Caves. "We are making arrangements to have the area more secure," she told this newspaper.

"We will arrange for added security so that when people get off the bus they are not going to be vulnerable to this type of situation. We just don't want that to happen.

"We have got our thinking caps on in order to avoid another incident like this. We certainly don't want anything to detract from our attraction."

A Police spokesman said the victim suffered injuries to both arms and her head, adding that the robbery was being investigated. He said the pensioner's suede handbag contained cash and personal items.

The main suspect — the pillion passenger on the bike — was black, more than 6ft tall and dressed in a white shirt with a symbol on the front and dark pants.

A sperate incident at King's Square in St. George's happened just before noon on Monday. A Police spokesman said that the woman was with a female friend when an unknown man on a black and silver motorcycle rode up and grabbed her handbag.

"A struggle ensued during which the suspect used a bladed article to cut the handbag's strap and then made good his escape with the bag," said the spokesman.

He added that the white crochet handbag contained cash and personal items. The suspect was black, slim, in his late teens or early 20s and was wearing a black T-shirt, dark shorts, tan boots and a black full face helmet.

Anyone with information about either mugging should call St. George's Criminal Investigation Unit at Southside Police Station on 293-2222.