A man has been rescued after becoming trapped in a hole at a property in Perth's northern suburbs for more than three hours.

Emergency services attended the home on Orbell Road in Hillarys at about 3pm on Tuesday, with a man in his 40s located about 3 metres down a hole in the property's backyard.

Aerial footage showed a large contingent of Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) vehicles outside the property.

The man was wrapped in a blanket as authorities attempted to free him from the hole, with his right leg believed to be trapped under dirt. 

Firefighters braced the hole with large planks and some officers descended into the cavity in an attempt to free the man. 

It's understood the man had been digging the hole for a number of days.

DFES District Officer Scott Bulloch said the rescue operation had been complex.

"Things are really dangerous when it comes to trenches, any movement around it and within the area can cause the sand to make him become more trapped … it's quite delicate," he said.

St John Ambulance officers entered the hole to assess the man before the retrieval operation started.

He has been taken to Joondalup Health Campus with non-life threatening injuries.