Elephant ride puts couple in intensive care

But Michael and Lorna Denyard, on a safari holiday to mark their retirement, were left with a rather less desirable souvenir of their experience: several broken bones and a stay in intensive care.

Former Cadbury executive Mr Denyard, 50, and his wife, 49, were in hospital with 'severe injuries' after toppling from an elephant's back only a day after arriving in South Africa for a 17-day trip.

The Denyards were visiting the Elephant Sanctuary at Hartbeespoort, an hour west of Pretoria, with another English couple and decided to finish off their morning tour with a bareback ride on one of its six rescued elephants.

The beast lay down to allow the couple to mount, but as it stood up, they were thrown off-balance and crashed to the ground.

The pair underwent emergency surgery on Thursday night: Mrs Denyard for multiple fractures to her pelvis and legs, and Mr Denyard for a smashed leg. Both are likely to remain in intensive care for several days.

Speaking from his bed at the Sunninghill Hospital, a shaken Mr Denyard said: "It was pretty clear from the way we hit the ground that we weren't going to get up. I thought I'd broken both legs."

Witnesses said the elephant's trainer was also unseated in the accident, but sanctuary owner Craig Saunders insisted the elephant had not behaved erratically.

Mr Saunders denied the accident could have been prevented by the use of a saddle or stirrups. "In my experience, if the foot gets caught in a stirrup, it's got its own set of problems," he said.

To exacerbate matters, the Denyards were nearly turned away by two private hospitals - one for emergency treatment and one for surgery - because their travel insurance was not recognised in South Africa.

Only after friends stepped in with cash and credit cards to guarantee payment were the couple admitted.

Experts claimed this was not uncommon in South Africa, and urged holidaymakers to get confirmation in writing from their insurers that their policy covered their destination.

In 2005, British gap-year student William Andrew, 18, sustained serious head injuries after being knocked over by an elephant he was helping to train at a South African safari centre.