Dramatic river rescue as man plucked from ute amid surging floodwaters near Warkworth

A man was rescued off the top of a ute that was swept away in a swollen ford north of Auckland today. Photo / Supplied

A man was plucked from the roof of his flooded ute as it was surrounded by raging floodwaters this morning.

The dramatic rescue happened around 7am as a motorist tried to cross a ford on Falls Rd, north of Warkworth.

The driver was quickly swept downstream in the murky rain-swollen waters, coming to rest at least 10 metres away from the road.

Warkworth Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Devon Flewellyn said a passing motorist was about to turn back - realising the ford was impassable - when he noticed headlights in the water.

He said they realised it was a vehicle in the water and raised the alarm.

"The guy had attempted to drive across it and got swept down the river. He ended up in a big pool.

"Luckily the car got wedged on a rock in the middle of the river."

With the water still rising, the stricken driver took to the only part of the vehicle that was not underwater, Flewellyn said.

"The guy managed to climb out of the window and was sitting on the roof of his ute."

Firefighters threw a rope and a lifejacket to the man, who was wet and cold.

"And then we threw another rope across to him and then got him to jump in the water and pulled him to safety."

Flewellyn said when the man got out of the water he was thankful but extremely cold.

"We gave him some warm clothes to put on. He was pretty wet and cold but otherwise fine."

He said given the conditions the man was fortunate so much went in his favour this morning.

"He was really lucky the car stayed upright and didn't flip and lucky he could get out onto the roof. He was also lucky the vehicle ended up stopped on a rock."