A kayaker suffered a ghastly injury when a large metal sinker punctured his elbow in a fishing accident on Auckland's Waitemata Harbour on Saturday.
The West Auckland man, a large sinker protruding from his arm, approached North Shore firefighter Adam Williams who was exercising with his crew at the Birkenhead Wharf, and asked for directions to the nearest medical centre.
Williams said the man told them he was heading out to fish from his kayak and was about 100m off the wharf when he was suddenly struck -- and he had no idea what had hit him.
"He thought he had been shot and then he thought he had been hit by a bird but he was tangled up in fishing line as well. And then he saw he had a sinker stuck in his arm," said Mr Williams.