NZ At Noon: Burning cow poo and a letterbox scam

Sun baked cowpats made this fire very difficult to put out. "They just keep burning," said a fireman

Stories making headlines across New Zealand at noon include cowpats bursting into flames in Hawke's Bay, and why thieves are targeting rural letterboxes.

Burning roasted cowpats proved problematic at a large grass fire in Hawke's Bay.

Somebody stole a $100 cheque from a mailbox in Canterbury and cashed it for more than $10,000.

How long will it be before the job description, "postie", will disappear all together?

The latest plans to find a place where Rotorua's homeless can bunk down has fallen through.

Kawakawa is breathing a sigh of relief.

Waitangi Day has apparently become too colonised and should be reclaimed by Maori.

Andreas and Gabrielle Laubscher were at home when flames licked across from the neighbouring boundary and raced towards their two-storey building.

Oamaru police Highway Patrol Sergeant Peter Muldrew is starring in the second series of Highway Cops.

With the big West Melton blaze under control the army is opening fire again but the pins are staying in the grenades.

A ''chop shop'' near Mosgiel used by thieves to dismantle stolen vehicles for the illegal sale of parts has been shut down.

Top trending topics on Twitter in NZ at Noon include #Africa, #BELIEVEacoustic, NZ Post, New Zealand, #Pinot2013, #NZPol and #IReallyDislike.

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