A sentencing judge has told two methamphetamine suppliers they were dealing "one of the most evil drugs known to man".

A puppy rescued by a Whangarei SPCA worker is now saving lives by sniffing out explosives in some of the world's war-torn danger spots.

Whangarei police want help tracking down a man involved in a "sinister" attack on a woman as she entered her home after a night out.

Six siblings have been jailed for bashing a couple during a violent home invasion which involved a machete and in which a 14-year-old boy was knocked unconscious.

A man arrested after armed police were called to what is understood to have been a domestic incident in Whangarei will appear in court today.

Police were called to Whangarei Falls after a visitor reported seeing a child's limb floating in a pool, but it turned out to be part of a baby doll.

A Whangarei solo mum has resorted to stealing to feed her children, while another gets more money on the benefit than any job she can get in the region, a beneficiary support worker says.

There could be some fish hooks in the way prizes are allocated in future but the organisers of the southern hemisphere's biggest snapper contest say it will definitely be held again next year.

"Crazy" people are at risk of being "fried" by high voltage powerlines - including people driving over and picking up 11,000-volt cables after two accidents in Whangarei.

A Whangarei man was taken to hospital after crashing into a power pole shortly after police abandoned a pursuit of his car.

A woman in her 50s was knocked unconscious and suffered a suspected broken arm when she fell down a cliff in Whangarei this morning.

A vehicle posing as a police patrol car with red and blue flashing lights is pulling over unsuspecting Northland motorist and its plain clothed occupants pretending to be police officers.

A Northland woman has died in hospital after she was severely burnt in a gas explosion.

A Whangarei man accused of assaulting a mother of two during a domestic dispute who later died is now facing a manslaughter charge.

Eight people were taken to hospital after a stolen car crashed into another vehicle containing six people near where a police patrol had stopped to speak to a cyclist.

A Whangarei couple who between them stole more than $72,000 from taxpayers by making false statements to get benefits have been sentenced to home detention.

A Whangarei man who bashed another in a random act of street thuggery and stole petrol five times has avoided jail mainly thanks to the efforts of his lawyer.

A Northland family hope the tragic death of Patricia Ann McGrath will not be in vain but may raise awareness about domestic violence.

Hours after Whangarei woman Patricia McGrath was fatally injured in a domestic dispute, her sister-in-law made a plea to the family not to take matters into their own hands.