Coastguard North Canterbury volunteers have rescued a person and two dogs after they became stranded on a ute in the Waimakariri River near Eyrewell Forest this afternoon.

The callout came just after 1:30pm, when Police notified volunteers of the incident off Weedons Ross Road.

Volunteers deployed the Blackwell Rescue swift water vessel from base while additional crew travelled by road to support.

The person and their dogs were safely retrieved and returned to shore.

Coastguard North Canterbury Vice President Logan Bryce said it was the organisation’s first official swift water rescue response.

“The crew were really chuffed to be able to carry it out successfully. It was a great opportunity to put our training into practice,” Bryce said.

Police and Fire and Emergency New Zealand crews also responded.

Coastguard is reminding people that river conditions can change quickly even after rain has passed, and urged anyone heading out to check river flow and riverbed alerts from their local council.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​