Lucky escape as car 'nails it into tree'

A group of surfers escaped unscathed when their car left the road and flew down a bank near Dunedin this afternoon.

Firefighter DCFO Cory White said the vehicle dropped several metres down the bank near Purakaunui and "nailed it into a manuka tree".

The four occupants were unhurt although one was shaken up, he said.

They were heading to a nearby beach to go surfing when their vehicle slid off the road.

Fire crews, ambulance and police attended the crash at 4.30pm on Purakaunui Rd.