After her car hit black ice, plunging down a bank and sank into a pond, Helen Kay grabbed her cat and 'kicked the hell out of a window' to escape.

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.

A South Dunedin man is calling for more support for people trying to start their own businesses.

A lightning strike caused a large fire which razed an historic homestead to the ground near Glenorchy this morning.

Sometimes there's nothing like a chilly holiday to leave you feeling invigorated.

Leah McLennan looks at what's big and what's new on the Otago skifields.

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.

Nothing re-awakens the Scot inside you like the aroma of a smoky whisky, finds Peter Feeney.

"My teeth were broken, blood came out of my mouth and Jessica was gone." A backpacker has described being unable to save a woman swept away on Milford Track.

Police did not coerce Joyce Conwell to confess to the shotgun murder of Alec Rodgers in Christchurch in 1999, the Independent Police Conduct Authority has ruled.

Aviation website privatefly.com has named its top 10 scenic airports at which to land. Our very own winter wonderland Queenstown gets a mention.

Police had to be called after an Ashmore presented its owner with a 5g bag of cannabis.

A ''feral'' student party in Stafford St in Dunedin yesterday was shut down by police, amid concerns for the safety of intoxicated people climbing on the outside of a three-storey flat.

No matter what the weather's doing, Pamela Wade finds entertainment in Southland and Central Otago.

Miners and farmers have made way for curling, writes Elisabeth Easther.

The parents of the German teenagers presumed drowned in Foveaux Strait are returning home and say they know they are leaving their daughters behind.

An Australian film crew believes it captured two UFOs on film near Queenstown, and have posted the video online.

Pellets laced with 1080 poison will be fed to trout to assess potential risks from the planned massive dump of the pesticide in native forests.

Two Dunedin gangs - once at war - have come together to ask Dunedin's council to give them a contract mowing the city's grass.

It's no wonder people rave about the beauty of this place, writes Elisabeth Easther.