EMERGENCY services have treated a man for serious back injuries after a large wave knocked him over on the Nobbys breakwall.
Paramedics, police and NSW Fire and Rescue crews were called to the breakwall on Monday at 2.25pm to reports a man had been washed off the rocks in the hazardous surf conditions.
A NSW Fire and Rescue team negotiated the hazardous conditions to rescue the man who had become trapped on the rocks.
The man in his 60s was then stretchered to an ambulance waiting at the start of the breakwall. He was taken to John Hunter Hospital in a stable condition.
The incident comes off the back of a weekend of hazardous surf conditions up the east coast. Four to six-foot waves broke over the beaches on Saturday, as strong south-southwesterly winds blew in. Heavy seas tore a chunk out of the South Newcastle sea wall structure on Saturday night.
Damaging waves continued to pound the Hunter coast throughout Sunday.
While the waves along the region's coast were generally between 2 to 2.5 metres, one buoy near Coffs Harbour registered a wave height of over 10 metres on Saturday night. Another buoy measured an 8.5m wave off the coast of Sydney.
Although the local waves didn't reach the forecast 5.5 metre mark, plenty of surfers took the opportunity to paddle out over the weekend.
Meanwhile, tonnes of sand bags placed along Stockton Beach protected it from further damage.
