An Otago teenager is lucky to have escaped serious injury after a fireball erupted when she was cooking in a Pine Hill house on Tuesday.

Two Dunedin youths have been arrested in relation to the theft and mutilation of a pet lamb in the city last month.

Friends helping an Alexandra teenager celebrate his 18th birthday took cover behind a wheelie bin when he became angry and kept reloading and firing his newly-bought airgun at them.

Otago Bowling Club members split more than $200,000 from the sale of grounds among themselves, instead of giving it to community interests.

Police are extremely concerned for the safety of an Oamaru man who was last seen late on Sunday night.

Josie Dale visits Macetown to recapture the atmosphere of the goldrush days.

One of Queenstown's top horsewomen was reduced to tears yesterday after discovering her two horses had their tail hair hacked off.

Police say a drunk teen alleged to have shot a friend in the knee had earlier aimed the gun at friends who were forced to take cover behind a wheelie-bin.

A psychiatrist who treated patients with the drug ketamine for depression was not carrying out research or experimental treatment, it's been found.

A drunk man is alleged to have mistakenly smashed his way into a Dunedin flat causing 'thousands' in damage and scaring the student residents.

A Clinton man whom a judge described as the "neighbour from hell" was lucky to avoid being held in contempt of court for his behaviour at a defended hearing.

The owner of a lamb which was bashed and killed on Saturday says he has been blown away by one Central Otago sheep farmer's kindness.

A beloved pet lamb was stolen and later dumped with a smashed head and set on fire outside its Dunedin home early yesterday, police say.

Catherine Smith enjoys the high life with great views at Matakauri Lodge.

An Auckland man has appeared in court in Brisbane today charged with trafficking synthetic cannabis into Australia.

Homes with excessively smoking chimneys in Otago's high air pollution towns will be targeted in coming months and residents given a deadline to "clear the air" as the battle to improve air quality intensifies.

Justine Tyerman goes for a hoon up the Dart River.

Many of the landmarks of the fabled Dunedin Sound of the 1980s can be visited on a relatively short and intriguing walk.

A holiday wildlife tour ended in hypothermia for four young women kayaking near Taiaroa Head, in Otago, yesterday.

A van ended up in Otago Harbour after going off Portobello Rd at Edwards Bay yesterday.

An elderly woman's death in the Clutha River last year was due to ill-health and her being intoxicated, a coroner has ruled.