Former Dunedin mayor Peter Chin is recovering in hospital after being revived by an Air New Zealand crew shortly after takeoff.

Mike Rankin counts himself lucky, despite his new truck plummeting over a bank at his Caversham home.

Two cases of ATM "shoulder surfing" have come before Auckland courts today, covering tens of thousands of dollars of alleged offending.

A fire which destroyed a house and damaged another was started by a Dunedin man trying to inhale cannabis over an lpg heater, the Dunedin District Court has been told.

Silver Fern Farms faces a bill of up to $3 million after it was ruled it made more than 100 Dunedin seasonal meat workers redundant.

A surge in the supply of methamphetamine is being pushed by gangs on a "willing market" in the south, police say.

The case of a promising young rugby player who avoided conviction for breaking a man's jaw has again raised concerns that sportspeople have a 'get-out-of-jail-free card'.

A former Dunedin student and aspiring model has been jailed for four years on drugs charges.

A male and female constable were attacked in Dunedin's CBD and police say it shows why the city's bars need to close earlier.

Two Dunedin police officers were violently attacked while breaking up a fight in the Octagon this morning.

A Kiwi researcher is studying how children exercise restraint from tempting lollies - and what it says about their likely self-control later in life.

A 7-year-old boy has made a remarkable recovery after being crushed by a children's motorised train at a Halloween event in Dunedin.

A "predatory" Dunedin lawyer who stole $2.8 million from 32 clients over 21 years in one of the longest-running frauds in NZ history has today been jailed for more than eight years.

Dunedin Botanic Garden staff are on high alert following a break-in by someone they believe was looking for hallucinogenic drug-producing cacti.

A fish tank at cash-strapped Dunedin Hospital cost $73,000 to install and more than $1000 a week to run in its first year.

Car buyers appear unlikely to face charges as a police investigation into the Dunedin City Council's alleged $1.5 million Citifleet fraud draws to a close.

Dunedin police were shocked to find a 10-year-old girl behind the wheel of a car being poorly driven on Saturday night.

A pilot has escaped a light aircraft crash in Western Southland this afternoon.

A huge macrocarpa tree exploded, sending pieces 70m into the air, after it was struck by lightning during a spectacular storm in Dunedin yesterday.

"It's a shame it wasn't a good old Kauri door", says the owner of a Dunedin flat damaged by an English rugby league star.

An England league player is facing disciplinary action after being filmed destroying a door at a student flat in Dunedin yesterday.

A city-wide blackout left Dunedin streets in the dark for half an hour last night, as concerns are raised about the reliability of the city's street lighting.

A broken toe put missionary Pete Johnstone - recently returned from West Africa - at the centre of an Ebola scare in Dunedin.

Police are offering a $50,000 reward to crack a cold case concerning the suspected homicide of a Dunedin mother.

A woman who was hit by a ute in Dunedin on Saturday remains in a serious but stable condition in Dunedin Hospital.