A man has been burned after cutting into an oil drum near Ashburton.

Police said they were called at 11.40am today after the drum exploded when the man cut into it in Maronan Valetta Rd, near Mayfield, on the Canterbury Plains northwest of Ashburton.

St John Ambulance said a 40-year-old man was being taken to Ashburton Hospital in a moderate, or non-life-threatening, condition.

Fire and Emergency NZ said it was also responding on the scene because the contents of the drum ignited, although the fire had now been extinguished.