Severe rain and wind warnings and a drop in temperatures have been issued for parts of the South Island and lower North Island this weekend.

Invercargill police used illegal and unjustified excessive force by letting a police dog bite and drag a suspected burglar for almost a minute, an IPCA probe found.

A person is dead and seven injured following a caravan and house fire at Invercargill early today.

The gas bottle explosion that rocked central Invercargill yesterday, seriously injuring the man transporting it in his ute, is extremely rare and will take some investigating to find out why it blew up, fire experts say.

Investigators are picking through shards of glass and twisted metal to work out why a gas bottle exploded in Invercargill today, injuring two people

Firefighters are dampening down hot spots after a block of shops caught fire in Invercargill this morning.

A 78-year-old woman and 76-year-old man are among 17 people, most with connections to the Invercargill-based Road Knights motorcycle gang, charged after a police swoop on 14 properties yesterday.

An offer has been placed on a large, run-down Invercargill house which is on the market for just $1, according to reports.

An offer has been placed on a large, run-down Invercargill house which is on the market for just $1, according to reports.

The men involved with a multimillion-dollar cannabis-growing ring in the South Island wore balaclavas and carried firearms while harvesting hundreds of plants, a judge said in the High Court in Invercargill.

Police have charged a woman with attempted murder after a 3-week-old baby was critically injured in Invercargill last week.

The hospital care received by an Invercargill mother just a day before her baby girl suffered critical injuries is under review.

The 3-week-old baby left fighting for its life after a violent incident at her Invercargill home was so badly injured that a policeman had to drive the ambulance to hospital.

The taxi driver racially abused in an alarming outburst caught on camera has returned to work, but the unsavoury incident has persuaded him to leave the industry.

A Pakistan-born taxi driver was subjected to a torrent of foul-mouthed abuse - and it's all been caught on camera.

A woman will appear in court today after a suspicious Invercargill house fire where firefighters pulled out an unconscious occupant.

A woman was just moments from death when she was rescued from a house fire in Invercargill early this morning, one of the firefighters who saved her says.

A "neighbourly dispute" involving a gun sparked a callout for members of the Armed Offenders Squad in Invercargill.

An alarming increase in thieves breaking car windows in broad daylight to steal valuables has sparked a warning from police that iPods and laptops left on seats are an "open invitation".

The trial of a Bluff woman who has denied charges laid after the sinking of her fishing boat Easy Rider last year will probably take one week.