A former Dunedin student and aspiring model has been jailed for four years on drugs charges.

A male and female constable were attacked in Dunedin's CBD and police say it shows why the city's bars need to close earlier.

Two Dunedin police officers were violently attacked while breaking up a fight in the Octagon this morning.

A Kiwi researcher is studying how children exercise restraint from tempting lollies - and what it says about their likely self-control later in life.

A 7-year-old boy has made a remarkable recovery after being crushed by a children's motorised train at a Halloween event in Dunedin.

A "predatory" Dunedin lawyer who stole $2.8 million from 32 clients over 21 years in one of the longest-running frauds in NZ history has today been jailed for more than eight years.

Dunedin Botanic Garden staff are on high alert following a break-in by someone they believe was looking for hallucinogenic drug-producing cacti.

A fish tank at cash-strapped Dunedin Hospital cost $73,000 to install and more than $1000 a week to run in its first year.

Car buyers appear unlikely to face charges as a police investigation into the Dunedin City Council's alleged $1.5 million Citifleet fraud draws to a close.

Dunedin police were shocked to find a 10-year-old girl behind the wheel of a car being poorly driven on Saturday night.

A pilot has escaped a light aircraft crash in Western Southland this afternoon.

A huge macrocarpa tree exploded, sending pieces 70m into the air, after it was struck by lightning during a spectacular storm in Dunedin yesterday.

"It's a shame it wasn't a good old Kauri door", says the owner of a Dunedin flat damaged by an English rugby league star.

An England league player is facing disciplinary action after being filmed destroying a door at a student flat in Dunedin yesterday.

A city-wide blackout left Dunedin streets in the dark for half an hour last night, as concerns are raised about the reliability of the city's street lighting.

A broken toe put missionary Pete Johnstone - recently returned from West Africa - at the centre of an Ebola scare in Dunedin.

A 36-year-old Dunedin man may be charged after allegedly bringing a knife into the central Dunedin Work and Income New Zealand office.

Senior students went to the rescue of an Otago Boys' High School rowing eight when their skiff was hit by a powerboat driven by their coach in Otago Harbour yesterday morning.

The Otago University student behind a "Rack Appreciation Society" Facebook page where members shared explicit pictures of young women says he's sorry.

With knocking knees and tears in her eyes, Ruth Jamieson accepted Sam Gilchrist's romantic proposal, as the crowd whistled and clapped.

Sam Gilchrist's halftime proposal to Ruth Jamieson at the Forsyth Barr stadium was met with cheers from the 3,500 strong crowd. Photos by Peter McIntosh.

The University of Otago's reputation has been ''sullied'' by an explicit Facebook page, vice-chancellor Prof Harlene Hayne says.

A box containing an old train set - and what was believed to be a corroded mortar bomb - triggered a major police callout in central Dunedin.

Women are being urged to come forward to police if they think they have been exploited on a recently shut down Facebook page.

Police are working to identify and dispose of a suspected corroded mortar in a building in Dunedin.

A secret Facebook page where students shared explicit pictures of young women is an example of an underlying "rape culture" at University of Otago, Rape Crisis says.