The Corporation of Hamilton is investigating an alleged prank that caused a horse to bolt along Front Street while two tourists were sitting in the buggy.

Corporation Secretary Roger Sherratt has asked City Ranger Mervin Dickinson to make inquiries about the incident on Tuesday, which led to the horse taking off from the shelter through busy daytime traffic.

The owner of the horse and buggy, Richard Walter Earlston Burrows, said the horse took off after a man hanging around the canopy on Front Street deliberately kicked a bucket of water from right next to the horse, causing it to take flight.

Fortunately, the couple on board the carriage and the horse were unhurt in the incident, but about $600 worth of damage was caused to the buggy. The horse galloped along Front Street and finally came to a stop outside the new Ace building after one of the wheels snapped. But carriage operators said this was not the first incident caused by local pranksters, and they said next time somebody could be seriously injured.

Mr. Sherratt said: "We have not received a complaint about this specific incident, but we are aware that we have some men that hang around the carriage station on a daily basis. We are very concerned about it. I have asked our city ranger to make further inquiries about what happened yesterday. I have asked him to find out who it was and what the circumstances surrounding it were. Unfortunately, there are people who hang around that area and it's somewhat difficult to deal with them, unless they break the law." But the carriage owners said they were continuously at the mercy of the public, particularly drivers and motorcyclists. Mr. Sherratt added: "We have cautioned the public about them. With all the traffic on the road now, and with some people being very inconsiderate on the road, there are obviously concerns about it."

However, Mr. Sherratt said carriage owners also needed to be mindful of the traffic. He said some problems had arisen recently because some buggy operators had ignored the "gentleman's agreement" arranged with the corporation not to operate along Middle Road in Devonshire and along Crow Lane during peak rush hour traffic. Mr. Sherratt added: "If they don't adhere to the agreement, there could be a ban for all public carriages to stay off the roads during rush hour, as opposed to just Middle Road in Devonshire." And he said members of the public had also complained about the horse and buggies travelling along Serpentine and Canal roads during the rush hour."