Cold fishermen warming themselves by a fire on Moturiki last night were surprised when firefighters turned up and extinguished their heat source.

Moturiki (Leisure Island) is a reserve and fires are not permitted on the island.

Firefighters were called to Moturiki Island last night.

The small fire among the rocks was spotted by someone on the mainland at 8.27pm says Mount Maunganui station officer Paul van Kol.

'Someone had a camp fire there and unfortunately you are not allowed fires on the island,” says Paul.

'We had a little back pack water thing, and threw the remaining embers in the drink. It was just a little one in the rocks to keep themselves warm.

'They stood up to it, it was appreciated. They stood up to what they had done and they weren't hiding. They were just ignorant of the rules.”