Biker comes a cropper

A woman was airlifted to Hawke's Bay Hospital yesterday with face and back injuries after a mountain bike accident.

The 33-year-old came off her bike while riding down a steep bank in Waipunga Forest, near Napier, about 4pm, said Dean Herrick of the Lowe Corporation rescue helicopter.

"She fell face first into the dirt."

Her male companion biked about 5km to raise the alarm.