Northland news in brief: Police seek witnesses to city assault; and another Lotto win

Northland is on a Lotto roll with six second division winning tickets sold in the region in the past four weeks.

A ticket sold in Northland was among 22 nationally that each won almost $17,000 in Lotto Second Division on Saturday.
The ticket, sold at Countdown Paihia, earned its holder $16,948. It was the sixth Lotto Second Division win in Northland in the past four weeks.
The winning Lotto numbers were 6, 17, 26, 29, 34 and 35, with the bonus number 3, and Powerball number 10. The winning Strike numbers were 26, 6, 35 and 29.

Witnesses sought

Police are seeking witnesses to an assault in Whangārei that left a man with serious facial injuries. A 21-year-old male has since been remanded in custody after he appeared in the Whangārei District Court charged with multiple offences including robbery, injuring with intent to injure and dangerous driving in relation to the assault on April 27 . He got out of his vehicle around 6.30am and approached the man before allegedly assaulting him and trying to flee with his cellphone, which was recovered. Footage recorded on a phone by a witness showed a man intervening. Police are trying to locate the Good Samaritan who was described as aged 20-30 years, of tall build with a beard, black shorts and work boots, and a black Fila bucket hat. Anyone who saw the assault or with footage is asked to contact police on 105 quoting file number 210427/3460.

Cow saved - and medals awarded

Kaitaia volunteer firefighters came to the aid of a cow stuck in a swamp on Fisher-Riley Rd in Kaitaia recently.

Station fire officer Kaye Ah-Sam said they moved the uninjured cow from the swamp to a small bank, while managing to stay relatively clean ahead of an evening service to honour brigade members, including Grant Baker, who received a Gold Star for 25 years service.

Assault charge

A person was taken to Whangārei Hospital after an altercation on Water St around 2.20am on Sunday. A 29-year old man has been charged with assault and injuring with intent. He is due to appear in Whangārei District Court on May 12.

New house price high

House prices in Northland hit an all-time high last month, for the fourth consecutive month. The average asking price reached $751,670, up 1.6 per cent from $739,168 in March. A total of 306 properties went on to the market last month, 17.7 per cent fewer than in March, and total stock was down 41.2 per cent from the previous month, with 691 properties available for purchase throughout the region.

100kg of trash collected

Charitable trust For Our Real Clean Environment (Force), helped a group from Te Mautohe ki Pātaua Protect Ancestral Lands in Pātaua South gather 100kg of rubbish and recycling from the local beaches. It took two hours to remove the waste from the Pātaua Bridge to the beaches near the Treasure Island campgrounds and the land being protected. The oldest piece of trash gathered was a Telecom phone card that expired in 2003.