A man has escaped from the boot of a moving car after he was allegedly assaulted and abducted in the New South Wales Hunter region overnight.

It is alleged the 20-year-old man went to meet a person at a Maitland address around 11:00pm yesterday, when he was assaulted and forced into the boot of a car.

Police spokeswoman Esther Au said the man escaped while the car was moving and ran to a nearby home where he called police.

She said police arrested a 27-year-old man early this morning.

He was charged with kidnapping and assault and will appear in court next week.