Elderly man trapped in shed taken to Hawke's Bay Hospital with hypothermia

Temperatures plummeted to below freezing in Hastings overnight. Photo / Warren Buckland

An elderly man who found himself trapped in a shed on one of the coldest mornings of the year in Hastings has been taken to Hawke's Bay Hospital with hypothermia.

The man was freed from the shed on a property on French St as emergency services descended about 8.10am on Monday morning, a police spokesperson said.

It is not yet clear how he became trapped, or how long he was in the shed.

A resident who lives across the road from the man said she woke up to find firefighters, police and a St John ambulance on the street.

"I didn't know what was going on," she said.

"At first I thought he had had a heart attack, but then with in a few minutes I saw a paramedic help him into the ambulance so I thought he wasn't too bad."

Temperatures plummeted overnight in Hawke's Bay to below freezing in most areas, including Hastings, with widespread frost across the region.

MetService meteorologist Tom Adams said Hastings dropped to an overnight low of -1.7C.

"Takapau was the coldest in the region at -3C but even Napier Airport felt it at -1.9C and Napier city at -1.5C, Hastings was at -1.7C and even Wairoa at -1.3C," Adams said.

Temperatures overnight on Saturday averaged around -1C and Sunday were 0C.

The frosts are expected to thaw and make way for overnight lows of between 5C and 6C later in the week.

Manager of Age Concern Hawke's Bay Deborah Biggs said people needed to regularly check in on elderly in the community, not only in winter but all year round.

"I think it's especially important during the winter because we aren't out and about as much and so need to make that effort to go and knock on their door just to check on them and see how they are going."