Former New Zealand chief mines inspector Tony Forster said in an e-mail tabled in Parliament yesterday the Pike River Mine drift re-entry was feasible and he was personally prepared to go in.

The old Ngahere Hall has survived the indignity of a car crashing through the wall to end up wedged under the stage.

West Coast police today advised motorists to take extra care when driving through the Lewis Pass and Maruia Valley on SH7 and SH65 as traffic numbers build up.

Heavy truck traffic is expected to increase through the West Coast after the 7.5 magnitude earthquake.

Anna Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse are calling for the mine not to be sealed in the hope the bodies of their loved ones will one day be recovered.

A District Court judge has refused to sentence a West Coast man over a cannabis growing operation because police had not considered the commercial aspect.

AOS members were called out twice in the space of an hour last night to deal with men who were threatening self-harm.

A new book casts doubt on the history of the discovery of the West Coast's first payable gold.

About 20 per cent of West Coast dairy farms could be in serious financial trouble, Federated Farmers heard at its quarterly meeting in Greymouth.

Bike racing fans have been praised for their help after a high-speed crash claimed the life of Nelson rider Guy Lowe during the Greymouth Motorcycle Street Races.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority has ruled that using the Taser on the man was a breach of policy, and that policy should be reviewed.

Man killed while taking part in Street Races went everywhere with his parrot Reggie who squawked and flapped when his best mate crashed and later died.

The Labour weekend road toll stands at two today, after a woman critically injured in a Paekakariki crash died in hospital.

The Labour weekend road toll stands at one tonight after an early-morning crash in Auckland today. A motorcyclist was also killed

The person was critically injured in the crash at Greymouth Motorcycle Street Races, and died on their way to hospital.

Raw sewage poured out of the sewer outlet of a Greymouth river to the disgust of whitebaiters fishing on a Sunday afternoon.

Five people have been charged after the "aggressive robbery" of several overseas tourists in campervans parked in Greymouth.

The mother of Trent O'Connell - who was 17 when he died on State Highway 7 on October 9 last year - recalls that day.

Constable Quirke shoots Stanley Graham and brings to an end one of New Zealand's worst mass shootings that killed seven men.

It was 75 years ago this month that West Coast farmer Stanley Graham killed for the first time. A total of seven people would be dead before he was caught.

The West Coast rugby player who underwent emergency brain surgery after collapsing straight after a Heartland Championship match against

A Westport driver caught driving while disqualified for the 15th time has been sentenced to Community detention, supervision and community work in lieu of disqualification.

The skipper of a commercial fishing boat admitted failing to scare seabirds away and may have cost his employer his vessel.

A family escaped a blaze in their two-storey Greymouth home.

A West Coast cage fighter who was arrested for assault and then left in handcuffs for more than eight hours was not treated with humanity, the police watchdog has found.

A house fire in Franklin St yesterday afternoon, caused by a faulty washing machine, would have been far worse were it not for working smoke alarms.

A Government-initiated study has recommended fuller investigation "to clarify once and for all" if the Haast to Hollyford Road is viable.

A French hitchhiker who spent four days trying to get a lift out of the West Coast without success plead guilty to damaging road signs.

A Frenchman whose attempts to hitch-hike out of the West Coast landed him in court says New Zealand should be renamed "Nazi Zealand". Cedric

Frustrated French hitchhiker ended up in handcuffs after road signs were hurled into the Punakaiki River and locals were abused.