Passengers on both the Tranz Alpine and the visiting Silver Fern railcar faced travel disruptions today after a derailment at Omoto early this morning.

Charges stem from an incident involving two people who were collecting pounamu from the bed of the Arahura River, near man's home at Milltown.

It was slim pickings for Greymouth whitebaiter Peter Almond on the Grey River this morning.

Police on lookout for cheeky criminals who took DIY to the next level .

A fire fighter was lowered into the natural limestone shaft - just 40cm wide - to rescue Middy who had been missing since Saturday.

Challenges facing the dairy industry are taking their toll on farmers, Federated Farmers West Coast provincial president Peter Langford says.

A Government-led bid to free New Zealand of predators by 2050 was repudiated today by the Ban 1080 Party as "justification for another 34 years of spreading 1080".

Wild weather yesterday aggravated coastal erosion at Cobden, with the car park at Jellyman Park now closed as a precaution due to the encroaching sea.

A West Coast woman is in custody after being found guilty of 11 charges involving sexual offences against her stepson.

DOC had to shoot a fur seal pup after someone put it on the back of a motorbike while skylarking on the Hokitika beach

The first six months of 2016 were set to be the warmest start to the year yet, based on data from seven weather stations, including Hokitika.

Andrew Durant was convicted of a charge of procuring other drugs, after being caught fossicking for magic mushrooms.

A witness to a shooting that shattered the Sunday afternoon peace described the surreal scene unfolding before his eyes as almost unbelievable.

A man whose alcohol addiction had "overwhelmed him" since the death of his wife, fell asleep drunk in the back of the Greymouth District Court

Man's sentencing completed after he had a chance to "sleep things off" during a night in the cells.

Advertisement in today's Greymouth Star states the Grey District Council "formally apologises" to Evan Jones Construction Ltd "for any distress it has caused".

A woman working on a farm owned by her father and stepmother was forced to leave after a heated argument.

A vicious dog bit a chunk out of a mother's arm to the bone as she stepped in to save her two young children.

"He had fallen about 3m and in the process had smashed a leg and fallen into the sea ... He had been there for an hour."

Helicopter access, e-bikes and new climbing routes proposed for new Pike 29 Memorial Great Walk.

Ground was broken today on the new $76 million Greymouth Hospital, ending five months of uncertainty and four years of planning.

The Government today top-up after subcontractor prices came back higher than expected.

Givealittle page set up for retired beekeeper who was caught at the Australian border with 6kg of cocaine hidden in the lining of his bag.

An icy spat between a couple at the top of the Franz Josef Glacier yesterday nearly saw the man and woman being left out in the cold.

Six-metre swells and heavy rain have taken off another half-a-metre of beach frontage near Punakaiki Beach Camp

The Greymouth Hospital rebuild is on schedule to start in less than a fortnight, but it's unclear what's been cut from the budget.

At least 30 road signs worth $10,000 have been vandalised or stolen in the Grey district in the past three weeks.

Some valuable discoveries have been made in time for the celebration of the life and death of famous West Coast explorer Charles Douglas.

The Greymouth fishing boat that suffered $350,000 of damage in a suspicious blaze while moored at the wharf early last week, is about to be towed to Nelson for repairs.

A Cobden teenager with substance abuse problems who burgled the Cobden Fire Station overnight on Saturday was today locked up after he was refused bail.