Jet boat catches fire while being towed in Canterbury

A jet boat has caught fire while being towed in Canterbury. Photo / NZH

A jet boat being towed by a vehicle has caught fire in Canterbury.

Emergency services were called to the scene on Christchurch Akaroa Rd (SH75) at about 11.40am today.

A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesman said it was on the Akaroa side of the Tai Tapu township.

"It was well alight when crews arrived and had spread to 5 metres of grass. They were on scene for an hour and the fire was extinguished just before 1pm."

Three crews from the Lincoln Fire Station attended.

"It has been left in the hands of police," the spokesman said.

It is still unclear how the fire started.

A police spokeswoman said they were called to assist with road closures from about 11.45am.

Both lanes of the SH were blocked while emergency services were at the scene but one lane has since opened up and traffic are being let through slowly, she said.

The Traffic Operations Centre has been notified to clean up debris off the road and a tow wagon arrived just after 1.15pm to remove the vehicle.