July 26, 2011 - 2:38PM
Ninety-four-year-old Phyllis Johnson saw a blur of red fur as she was taking the Sunday washing from the line in the backyard of her home in Charleville, south-west Queensland.
She says a red kangaroo - taller than her 160-plus centimetres - ploughed through the clothes and slammed her to the ground, then kicked her.
She got to her feet and grabbed a broom to try to fend it off.
Striking at it several times, she escaped to the safety of her granny flat.
Her son Rob Johnson arrived home from church to see his mother huddled inside and a roo in his shed.
"She fought it off herself with a bit of help from the family dog," Mr Johnson said today.
"When she told me the roo was still here I went and had a look and found it in my workshop.
"Then it had a bit of a go at me."
Mr Johnson said he picked up a stick to scare it but the roo didn't flinch.
He then ran inside and phoned the police.
Senior Sergeant Steve Perkins says it was one of the most unusual call-outs he had had.
Even two male officers who arrived found the roo difficult to subdue.
Both were forced to ward off an attack with capsicum spray.
"It was aggressive. It attacked one of the officers," Senior Sergeant Perkins said.
He sprayed it with capsicum spray and then it turned its attention to the other officer who also had to deploy the spray.
The animal hung around the Johnsons' home, but National Parks and Wildlife officers have since taken it away.
Mr Johnson said he hoped the roo would be relocated somewhere away from homes.
"It's not frightened of people at all," he said.
"It's a real danger.
"If my mum didn't have the broom to chase it away, it could have killed her."
He said his mother had a huge gash to her leg and was recovering at Charleville Hospital.
AAP
