A rubbish truck engulfed in flames this morning needed to be taken apart in a six-hour effort to put the fire out.
Firefighters were called to a rubbish truck on fire on the side of the road at the intersection of State Highways 2 and 34 at 1.45am.
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said the truck was "well-involved" when they arrived.
Crews from Matata, Edgecumbe, and Whakatāne were on the scene as well as a tanker.
He said the truck needed to be pulled apart by machinery to get to all the fire, which was fully extinguished at 8am.