NZ@noon: Long-lost turtle returns

FLIPPERED FRIEND: Mason Playle, 4, (left) and Elsie Papps, 3, are stoked to have Flippy the much loved turtle back. PHOTO/BEN FRASER 270814BF2

Stories making headlines around the regions today include celebrations after a missing pet turtle returns home and a mysterious find in a Whangarei attic.

Last week's floods in Rotorua may have brought misery to many but for a group of Rotorua children, it brought a miracle by way of a long-lost turtle.

Horse lovers in Wanganui are concerned that horses being kept in the Castlecliff area may have been abused and that one has been attacked with peroxide bleach.

Sitting at the riverbank enjoying fish and chips with his partner has landed a Wairarapa man in custody.

Ambulances are taking people to their GP instead of Hawke's Bay Hospital's Emergency Department which has been in winter "gridlock" due to a full hospital.

A 49-year-old cold case involving the disappearance of a young baker - whose van was later found in Mount Maunganui - will be revisited in a coronial inquest this week.

Finally, can you help solve the mysterious find in Nicole Gardner's attic? When she bought her house in Whangarei a year or so ago she didn't expect it would lead her on a journey of discovery and hopefully repatriation.