Australian jockey Eran Boyd has said she felt 'helpless' when the bushfires hit her home town of Kangaroo Island.

Boyd, who has 192 career wins to her name, grew up on the island and her parents still reside there.

Speaking to Racing.com, she said: "When the bushfires were happening here on Kangaroo Island, I felt so far away, I felt really helpless.

"Being on the mainland I felt like I couldn't do much. It was such a stressful time knowing that I had family and friends over here having to go through that. It was just really awful.

"The whole town was actually in danger of being lost, they got evacuated twice, the fire came right up to the edge of the town. We were very, very lucky not to lose the town thanks to our amazing firefighters and even the farmers that were out there fighting the fire.

"I think seeing how close these fires came to people's homes and our township, that's when it really hit me. It really, really frightened me."

The Kangaroo Island Carnival Cup, a racing event, took place last weekend, with record crowds coming out to raise funds for the island in light of the bushfire devastation.

A huge 3,800 people turned up and raised thousands for the cause.