Carrot-addicted kangaroos attacking visitors at tourist spot near Sydney

Visitors to Australia have been warned not to feed kangaroos after marsupials started attacking people at a tourist hotspot near Sydney.

Thousands of people visit  Morisset Hospital in southern Lake Macquarie every week in order to get close to kangaroos that gather on the grassy slopes.

Signs warning tourists not to feed the creatures have been pinned to trees in the area, which is less than a two-hour train ride from the city in New South Wales. 

"There are people getting kicked and scratched at least every day," Shane Lewis, tourist shuttle bus driver, told ABC News.

"One lady got 17 stitches in her face from her eye to her chin."

He said people often give food, especially carrots, to the kangaroos as they try to get close to them. 

"The kangaroos see at least 2,000 tourists a week and they don't need 2,000 carrots or bananas and bread, chips and biscuits," Mr Lewis said.

 "I've even seen some silly people feeding them McDonalds, KFC, corn chips, oats and there are some foods they are very aggressive for."

Andrew Daly, an animal keeper at the Australian Reptile Park, told the broadcaster that the kangaroos would have become bolder and more aggressive after being given the carrots every day.

"They can kick, they can scratch with their front paws and do quite a bit of damage, especially when they're trying to get those foods that they really like, or could be addicted to."

Kangaroos are largely docile and instinctively scared of humans but can act unpredictably if they feel threatened. They have been known to attack humans, although incidents are rare.

When kangaroos do attack humans they do so as if they were another kangaroo by grappling with their forepaws or sitting back and kicking out with their hind legs.

In January last year, an Australian jogger had to have emergency surgery after being attacked by a kangaroo in suburban Melbourne.