LEAD STORY: Fire crew recovers man's body from peak

A man's body recovered from Te Mata Peak in Havelock North yesterday may have been there for up to five days.
Acting Senior Sergeant Matt King of Hastings Police said the body was found about 11.30am down a bank on the steep side of the hill by a member of the public. The male was about 1.72m tall and wearing three-quarter length denim shorts with a grey T-shirt.
There was no form of identification with the body.
Mr King said there had been no reports of missing people to Hastings police.
The finding is not being treated as suspicious at this stage.
The body was taken away for a post-mortem examination at Palmerston North Hospital this morning.
Dental records or DNA may be needed to provide identification.
Hastings Fire Senior Station Officer Kerry Harford said it was not possible to walk to where the body lay, so four firefighters were dropped down by line with a stretcher to recover it. Others were sent up in a four-wheel-drive to assist.
Acting Senior Sergeant Jon Fey appealed to members of the public with any information to phone the Hastings Police Station on 873 0500.