A teenager was left with nasty injuries after being dragged 30ft by her horse - which bolted when a van driver sped past.

Rosie Buck, 18, had stepped onto Dane Court Road in Broadstairs as she believed there was plenty of time to cross.

But a van started racing down the long stretch and overtook the pair while her six-year-old horse, Fred, was still on the crossing - which leads onto Shallows Road.

The driver's reckless behaviour caused Fred to bolt, dragging the teenager through a bush and along a path as she tried to cling on to his lead.

Rosie and other residents are now calling for safety improvements in Dane Court Road - which merges into St Peter's Road.

These measures include better signage and a pegasus crossing, which is a signalised pedestrian crossing with special consideration for horses.

Recalling the terrifying incident, Rosie says she collected Fred from the stables and approached the horse crossing in Dane Court Road shortly before 10.30am on Sunday, June 19.

"As I decided it was safe enough to cross the road, a van came round the corner of St Peter’s roundabout," she said.

"I knew I had enough time to cross the road because I had crossed it many times with cars being that far away.

"I was not even halfway across the road when a van started racing up the road behind me and put his foot down."

As he approached, the driver would have passed a horse rider warning sign about 170 yards before reaching the crossing - but didn't slow down.

Rosie, who was holding onto a lead rope while she walked Fred across the road, says she had managed to step onto Shallows Road when the van overtook - but her horse was still in the road.

"As any normal horse would, he freaked out," she said.

"All I remember is I went down on my knees, into the bushes as he was dragging me.

"By the time he got me onto the path, I felt the burn on my hip, so I had to let him go.

"He was loose and running around the fields."

The teenager was dragged for about 10 metres along the floor as her horrified mum, Tracy, witnessed the incident.

Rosie added: "When I was being dragged, I don’t think it hit me what was happening.

"Crossing the road now, I have to run across it, even without Fred in my hand, because I am so nervous.

"I have someone come out with me now to help me turn out because I panic."

Fred was lame for a couple of days after the incident but has recovered after plenty of rest.

"Because I fell on my knees, I had a large bruise on one," Rosie said. "Where he dragged me on the concrete, I had a nasty burn on my hip, which bruised quite badly.

"It could've been a lot worse. If I didn't let go, he would have carried on dragging me.

"He is so young and a horse in general will carry on going if they're scared."

Rosie has now called for better safety improvements along the road, such as better signage and a speed camera.

"It would be nice to see more crossings as it is quite a long road and there is only one designated [signal] crossing," she added.

Other residents have called for similar measures after expressing concerns about the road.

Jason Elworthy, 54, who has lived off Dane Court Road his entire life, has raised concerns about drivers' behaviour on the road.

"It’s a dangerous piece of road..."

He says while most motorists slow down and put their hazards on when they see a horse, some drive irresponsibly.

"During the rush hour, it is pretty savage," he said.

"The rest of the time it is a bit of speedway even though it is 50mph.

"You can have extremes like with Rosie the other day. It’s a dangerous piece of road."

He has also called for improved safety measures to help protect horse riders.

"We could do with more signage that there is a horse crossing there - that would be a place to start," he said.

"There could be road markings for that area to make the crossing clear and a traffic crossing would be a possibility.

"It wouldn’t be used that often and it is not just for horses but the general public."

St Peters ward councillor Mike Garner (Green) said the incident involving Ms Buck was "horrendous" and "must have been very scary".

"There needs to be more signage," he said.

"If it is being used regularly by people on horses, people driving along there need to be aware of it.

"People shouldn’t be speeding anyway but if people aren’t aware through signage, I would like to see more along that road."

He added that road safety is becoming more of an issue across the whole of Thanet due to plans to build more houses in the district.

A Kent County Council spokesman said: "Whilst we sympathise with residents, we have to make tough decisions on where to improve traffic and road safety in local areas.

"We look at the sites most in need of improvement first, which have got the support of the whole community. We will check the existing horse rider warning signs are clearly visible in this location.

"Managing the speed of traffic is essential to continue reducing the number of and severity of casualties on our roads.

"Kent Police is responsible for the enforcement of speed limits."

The spokesman said KCC is happy to consider all requests as long as residents go through the steps outlined on the Kent Highways website.