A Dunedin driver who crashed into a cow woke up in a smoke-filled car with an 18-wheeler truck bearing down on her.

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull has ''no regrets'' about stepping in to buy a set of leg irons, despite evidence they were used to hold camels, not Maori prisoners as had been believed.

'At that level I'm surprised you were even able to get your keys in the car.' A Dunedin judge slams a woman for driving drunk with her 2-year-old in the car.

This picturesque slice of the South Island is not just a hub for adrenalin junkies, discovers Jennifer Ennion.

A 48-year-old man who lost his life following a fire in the Clutha district last night has been named.

The Dunedin mother of a victim who had her head split open with an axe is campaigning for tougher penalties for offenders who breach protection orders.

The Invercargill woman charged with keeping too many cats on her city property is continuing the fight to keep her name secret.

A boy out on a quiet street in his pyjamas, ''hysterical and upset'', alerted neighbours yesterday to an unexplained death in Dunedin.

Finding escaped prisoner Stephen Maddren is now like finding a needle in a haystack, police concede.

Horrified motorists rushed to the aid of four seriously injured people after two cars collided head-on last night on Dunedin's Southern Motorway.

Fergus Blakiston embarks on a 10-day odyssey of the South's skiing high points.

The mother of escaped prisoner Stephen Maddren has made an emotional plea for her son to give himself up.

Police have fears for escaped prisoner who fled an Otago Corrections Facility wearing only trackpants and a top as 'hypothermic conditions' set in.

An unlicenced 16-year-old Dunedin youth is in hospital with a serious head injury after fleeing police in a high-speed pursuit.

"I'm not responsible for the rain, surely?" An 85-year-old has been hit with a big bill after a fuse blew on the power pole outside his house.

A Queenstown hotel treats its guests to epicurean delights sourced on its doorstep, finds Morgan Tait.

Five seconds are all that stood between David Greer and death, as the farmer struggled for air while trapped underwater in his truck in the Kyeburn River.

A former taxi driver has been charged with theft and making a false statement to police after claiming he was attacked and robbed of $700.

There are delays for motorists on Dunedin's Northern Motorway after a multi-vehicle crash resulting from frosty conditions this morning.

A Queenstown police constable has pleaded not guilty to an offensive language charge relating to an alleged incident involving a taxi driver.