'I thought, this is it': Taranaki truck driver has harrowing ride in tornado's path

As he drove into the eye of a tornado with trees and power lines coming down across the road a Taranaki truck driver thought, "This is it".

Rick Field was on his way to deliver a load of fertiliser in South Taranaki this morning when he drove right into a passing tornado.

His camera was rolling as he headed straight into the storm - and his sweary commentary reveals how frightening the ride became.

"This isn't good - I swear there a f***ing tornado," Field says on camera.

"Where's the road?"

He watched as trees are brought down and realises he needs to keep away from power lines.

"There's trees coming down, holy shit... This is f***ing freaky I don't even know where to hide.

"Ive never been so shit scared in my life.

"I'm in the f***ing tornado!".

Field later told the Herald the ordeal started out as a bit of wind and rain, but quickly began to intensify. Soon enough trees were flying over the road and power lines were coming down.

"I was just thinking, 'Where can I hide?'," Field said.

"But there was nowhere to hide. I couldn't see where I was going, but you don't know if you are going in or out. I just kept driving."

"Once the trees started snapping I thought, 'Woah, this is it'. I thought one was going to come straight down on to the top of the cab."

In a video of the journey along Opunake Rd near Stratford, Field can be heard screaming, "I am in the tornado. It is an actual tornado."

Fortunately Field and his truck came out unscathed, albeit a little shaken.

"The truck came out sweet.

"I have never been so s... scared in my life."

After the delivery when he went to go back along the road, but saw it had been closed.

"Half of the trees had been ripped out of the ground and power lines were covering the road.

"It freaked me out seeing that. I must have been pretty close.

"Not a lot scares me, drive tricks and race cars, but that was pretty freaky."