Man suffers serious burns at popular campsite

A man was flown to hospital early this morning after suffering serious burns at a popular New Year's campsite.

The Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter was called to Vinegar Hill, near Hunterville in Rangitikei, about 1am.

Paramedics were at the scene helping the 27-year-old burns victim.

"The guy was heavily sedated by the time he got to hospital because of the nature of his injuries," helicopter base manager and pilot Chris Moody said.

"It appears he's fallen [into] a fire, from what the ambulance officers said."

The man was flown to Hutt Valley Hospital, which has a specialist burns unit.

A Hutt Valley Hospital spokeswoman said the man was in a stable condition in the plastics ward.

Because Vinegar Hill was packed with campers, the helicopter landed in a nearby paddock on a site prepared by the Hunterville Fire Brigade.