McDonald's has given $5000 to a man who can't walk after he crushed his spine tripping on a kerb outside one of its restaurants.

A man has been charged with murder after the death of a 61-year-old man at a house north of Whangarei last night.

The man who died in the quad bike crash yesterday was Bruce Murray Stenning, 82, of Auckland.

A man suffering from severe hypothermia has been rescued off the Northland coast after his yacht foundered on rocks and started sinking.

Officials are working to clear a fuel spill from a ship berthed at Northport in Whangarei Harbour.

Lucy Casley explores Whangarei's stunning scenery and mouthwatering cuisine.

Noel Hendry, 79, of Ruakaka, died in the blaze which engulfed his home on Bream Bay Dr, Ruakaka, near Whangarei, early this morning.

A teenager who allegedly burgled a Whangarei home and left his driver's licence in the house next to a smashed stereo has made an appearance in court.

Police are still looking for the person who broke into a Whangarei home at the weekend, leaving behind a driver's licence and cap at the scene.

Alcohol and chocolate bars were the target for young people on a looting "rampage" at a Whangarei supermarket last night, police say.

One person is still trapped in a vehicle after a head-on collision on State Highway 1 south of Whangarei about 2pm.

An "open-invitation" party left terrified residents cowering in their homes waiting for police to arrive.

Harris was removing a cover on his prized yellow Toyota MR2 when it was struck by another vehicle on George St, in Hikurangi.

A Whangarei woman has been extradited from Australia after an exhaustive 18-month process to place her before the courts.

A Whangarei Boys' High School boarding student is in a coma in Auckland Hospital two weeks after being assaulted on his way home from a church youth group.

Whangarei police spokeswoman Sarah Kennett said officers were called to a family violence incident at Arcus St, Otaika, about 6pm yesterday.

A wanted man on the run from police since early April has been arrested and charged over the serious assault of two Korean fishermen at Ti Point Wharf.

This morning's fog wreaked havoc with flights and weekend plans, but it couldn't stop a pair of proud grandparents from completing a journey 15 years in the making.

A 12-year-old boy was taken to hospital after being injured during a rugby game this afternoon.

One person is dead following a single car crash near Whangarei this afternoon.

The funeral for a 14-month-old toddler who was fatally hit by a car in Kamo last week will be held today at the Pehiaweri Marae in Whangarei.

A man killed when his car plummeted off a bridge and into a river northwest of Whangarei last week has been named by police.

One person is dead after their car went off a bridge and into a river about 120km north-west of Whangarei tonight.

A Northland teacher convicted of sexually abusing two girls and physically abusing six children placed in his care by Child Youth and Family has had an appeal against his conviction dismissed.

Three men were arrested today by police investigating the aggravated robbery of the One Tree Point store near Ruakaka in Northland last Sunday.

Concerns are held for the safety of a three-year-old boy taken by his father after a violent family incident in Whangarei today.

A major financier has repossessed equipment from the owner of forestry business HarvestPro New Zealand.

A massive pipi bed in Whangarei harbour is dying and there are fears the change could destabilise the harbour - and Marsden Point itself, Radio NZ reports.

With more children coming to school hungry, a scientific study will for the first time guage the impact nutrition — or lack of it — has on learning.