A couple told how they brushed with death when their horse-drawn buggy jackknifed after a near-collision with a bus.

In another horse-and-carriage incident, visitors were said to have been thrown into Front Street after the animal bolted.

And in a third accident, a car and a horse-and-carriage reportedly collided in Warwick.

One of the victims, Mrs. Debbie Masters, told The Royal Gazette she would be writing to the Public Transportation Board.

She said the accidents occurred in the space of a few hours, and have raised fears about the safety of horse-and-carriages on the roads.

Forty-nine-year-old Mrs. Masters and her husband, David, 58, needed hospital treatment following the May 24 buggy accident in Smith's Parish which blocked the road.

Self-employed construction worker Mr. Masters came off worse, receiving two broken ribs and extensive road rash.

"He is very lucky to be alive,'' said Mrs. Masters, who suffered severe bruising and a head gash. The Devonshire couple's horse, Sunny, escaped with an injured back leg.

Mrs. Masters said the accident occurred in Harrington Sound Road as she and her husband were going to their stables in Orange Valley, Devonshire.

She claimed the near-collision occurred after the bus, coming in the opposite direction, overtook a jogger.

The six-foot wide buggy ploughed into a roadside wall, and flipped over, dumping the couple in the road. A section at the front of it broke off, said Mrs. Masters.

"I cried out `Ho, Sunny, ho!' and fortunately the horse stayed put and didn't bolt.

"If it wasn't for Sunny, and the grace of God, I think we would have been dead.'' Mrs. Masters said the bus stopped and passengers ran to their aid. "We were both covered in blood, and my husband had road rash from head to toe. His hands were still attached to the reins after the buggy overturned.'' Two ambulances soon came to the scene, and six people helped right the buggy, added Mrs. Masters.

"While I went to hospital, my husband, even though his ribs were broken, rode the carriage back to the stables.

"Someone made sure he got there all right, and then he too went to hospital.

The bus passengers were very helpful. A lot of people came out to help us, thank goodness.'' Mrs. Masters, however, voiced dismay at the attitude of the bus driver, claiming he did not do or say anything after the accident.