Man lay injured for three hours

A man lay injured for more than three hours after falling from a ute on Great Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf late on Saturday night.

The 27-year-old was flown by Westpac rescue helicopter to Auckland City Hospital.

The man is believed to have been travelling on the back of the vehicle in the Fitzroy area and fell during the journey sometime before midnight.

Friends with him did not see him fall, but when they discovered him missing a search was started. He was found about 3am yesterday.