An injured fisherman was plucked to safety overnight after a rising tide trapped him on the rocks at a remote Whangārei Heads beach.
The man had been fishing off the rocks on Kauri Mountain Beach in Taiharuru when he slipped and seriously hurt his shoulder shortly before 1am on Monday.
He used his cellphone to dial 111 which triggered a response from Police Search and Rescue who called in firefighters from Whangārei Heads and Whangārei, plus the Northland Rescue Helicopter to assist.
Sergeant Craig Burrows, of Northland's Search and Rescue team, said they knew he was fishing close to his car.
"Once we found his vehicle we managed to narrow down his location fairly quickly."