'Rubber knickers' airs during broadcast

Anyone tuning into TVNZ's 6pm new bulletin last night might have done a double take if they had the subtitles turned on.

That's because the phrase "rubber knickers" accidentally snuck into a 1 News live cross about the out of control bush fires in Christchurch.

The mistake happened during a dramatic report from Alison Pugh, who delivered her cross expertly while smoke billowed up from the fire behind her.

But when she said," Rubber neckers are coming over the hillside to get a closer look," the show's subtitles had a slightly different interpretation.

It said: "Rubber 'knickers' are coming over the hillside to get a closer look."

A TVNZ spokesperson said the subtitles were supplied by a company called Able and "a typo obviously slipped through".

The fire is continuing its rampage today, with a state of emergency declared in Christchurch and Selwyn, and about 1000 people evacuated.

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