Two tourists were lucky to escape unhurt yesterday after a horse bolted through Hamilton following a mindless prank by locals.

Carriage-owner Richard Walter Earlston Burrows said the couple had just climbed on board, and he was also about to take his seat, when two men hanging around the shelter kicked a bucket of water from underneath his horse.

He was forced to jump back from the carriage as the horse sprinted out of the shelter and took off along Front Street with the couple still on board.

It finally came to rest outside the new Ace building, near to the junction of Woodbourne Avenue, after one of its wheels became damaged.

Both the couple and the horse, also called Richard, were uninjured, but they were all shaken by their ordeal.

Mr. Burrows said: "The reigns were in my hand and I was stepping up to get on the carriage when two men kicked the bucket in front of my horse.

"The horse just ran. I was so shaken, there was nothing I could do. The horse finally came to a stop further along Front Street. It had to stop because one of the wheels was broken and it couldn't pull the carriage anymore."

But Howard Charles, who owns eight horse and carriages, said this was not the first time horses had been spooked by locals loitering around the shelter. He said: "There is a sign there saying `no loitering', but they still hang around all day. We have complained so many times, but nothing happens. This could have been much worse. Thank God nobody was hurt, and nobody else was taken along with the carriage when the horse ran. There is no Police patrol down at the shelter. We need to have a greater Police presence to stop these people hanging around. This is an everyday thing. It's not kids hanging around the shelter, it's men." Mr. Burrows, who has only owned the carriage since August, said the horse had been taken to the stable, and he hopes to have his carriage repaired soon. The damage was estimated around $600.