Emergency services attempting to extricate man who has fallen down bank in Dunedin

Fire and Emergency New Zealand are on the scene attempting to rescue the man. Photo / File

A man helping to install roadside signs suffered back and neck injuries after he fell three metres down a steep bank near Leith Valley Rd last night.

Emergency services attended the incident around 8pm and Fire and Emergency New Zealand crews were tasked with extricating him from the bank.

FENZ crews used a Stokes rescue basket to lift the man back to safety in what was being called a "very successful" operation.

"He was caught up in the scrub and the trees,'' Willowbank Fire Station station officer Ant O'Neill said.

"He's in ED [Dunedin Hospital Emergency Department] - that's a win for us."

The worker, believed to have been in his 50s, fell several metres down a "sheer drop", but fortunately was caught up in some large trees and undergrowth after landing.

This prevented him from falling or rolling about seven metres further down a very steep embankment slope into a creek, O'Neill said.

"He was working on the side of the road and slipped down an embankment," O'Neill said.

"He's got some possible back and neck injuries."

Four firefighters from Willowbank Station and four from Dunedin Central Station helped rescue the man - four in the basket and four lifting him to the road.

Firefighters were working in a confined area, with a further drop nearby.

One of the most challenging tasks was to carefully roll the worker, who had fallen face down, into the rescue basket, before lifting him to safety.

St John was also in attendance and ambulance staff gave the man initial pain relief before he was lifted to safety by the FENZ crew.

After he was rescued from the bank, the man was swiftly taken off to hospital to receive further treatment.

"It's just one of the jobs that we do," O'Neill said.

"It's good to get to assist the public and do what we do under trying conditions."