Couple attacked by young kangaroo as son saves their lives by hitting the animal with a piece of wood.

An Australian couple is lucky to be alive after they were attacked by a vicious kangaroo in northeastern Queensland state.

Jim and Linda Smith were feeding wild kangaroos on their property in the Darling Downs when a grey kangaroo buck struck out at Jim, knocking him to the ground.

The kangaroo attacked his wife when she ran to help him, leaving her with a collapsed lung, broken ribs, cuts and scratches.

“It’s scary, it knocked me over once or twice and once they grab you, you can see what they do,” said Jim Smith, showing his injuries.

It was only when their son came out and hit the kangaroo with a piece of wood that the marsupial stopped the attack and returned to nearby bushland, Australian media reported.

Linda Smith was taken to Toowoomba Hospital, where she underwent surgery.

“If the kangaroo was able to continue to inflict further injury, her life was, yes, in danger,” Queensland Ambulance Service’s senior operations supervisor, Stephen Johns, said.

Australia has roughly 45 million kangaroos and it is not unusual for them to come into conflict with people as housing has expanded to areas where the marsupials live.

They are even more likely to be driven into populated areas in search of food and water in drought-stricken areas.