Video footage has emerged of a group of skateboarders overtaking a lorry at breakneck speeds while hurtling down a steep hill in New Zealand.

The film shows six riders descending the Bombay Hills on one of the country's busiest stretches of road to the south of Auckland.

The camera, attached to a helmet, records the rider passing three others, and moving into the left lane to pass the lorry.

He also overtakes one skateboarder who is riding barefoot, before finally coming to a halt when the gradient flattens out, around 1.5 miles from where he started.

A blogger came across the video, posted on Facebook by Canadian Andrew Chapman and put it on YouTube where it has become a hit.

The group travelled around the North Island on the extended skateboards, known as longboards, for two weeks.

But while it has proved popular on the internet, police in New Zeland are far from impressed, describing the group's actions as "incredibly stupid" and "idiotic".

One officer said anybody using a skateboard on a road like that, obviously had a death wish.