Two police officers used McDonald's trays and washing-up liquid to move two cars that were blocking an intersection after Auckland's January flash flooding.
The moment in the North Shore suburb of Milford was captured by a crew filming for a future series of the reality TV show Motorway Patrol.
Thousands of waterlogged vehicles littered the streets of Auckland in the aftermath of the Anniversary Day floods, with drivers left dodging cars after tow truck operators were left overwhelmed.
Amid the chaos, motorway constables Aaron Rom and Adrian Bentley were called to direct traffic at the Nile and Alma Road intersection, where two abandoned vehicles were making motorists switch lanes against oncoming traffic.
"The cars were hydro-locked - engines seized, with water in their cylinders - and dead electronically and couldn't be steered or overridden into neutral," police said.
"No tow truck would be able to get there until the following evening, so they took it upon themselves to manoeuvre the two vehicles off the road.
"A former vehicle mechanic and confessed car enthusiast, Adrian had a brainwave.
"He made a dash to McDonald's in Wairau Road and requested four plastic serving trays. Aaron acquired a bottle of washing-up liquid from a nearby home."
The two officers jacked the two vehicles using a trolley jack, "lubricated the serving trays with the washing-up liquid, and slid them under the car's wheels."
Speaking to the Police's Ten One Magazine, Bentley said: "This reduced the friction gradient enough to allow the vehicles to be pulled/pushed away from the intersection and to the side of the road, removing their risk to road users.
"We used the push bars on the motorway units and attached tow hooks to pull the vehicles to the side of the road."
The police's road policing manager in Auckland, Scott Webb, said it was "all hands to the pump for staff during the storm".
"I was impressed with the two constables' thinking outside the square with some great Kiwi ingenuity," he said.
"It just demonstrates just how Adrian's previous role as a vehicle mechanic, and the skills he learnt from that craft, assisted in his police work."
The flash floods that hit Auckland on January 27 caused widespread damage and disruption across the city. About 2000 waterlogged vehicles have been towed by Auckland Transport since then.
A review of authorities' flooding response is expected to be released later this month.
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