CANBERRA, Australia - Two Australian police officers have used pepper spray to fight off a rogue kangaroo that had attacked an elderly woman in her backyard in an Outback town.

Kangaroos rarely attack humans. Senior-Sgt. Stephen Perkins, head of police in the Queensland state town of Charleville, said Tuesday that he had never before heard of police using pepper spray against one _ but that the tactic worked.

The 94-year-old victim, Phyllis Johnson, was taken to a hospital for treatment for cuts and bruises after the attack Sunday. She told The Courier Mail newspaper that she tried unsuccessfully to fight the kangaroo off with a broom after it attacked her while she was hanging her laundry.

Perkins said wildlife rangers trapped the kangaroo.