Donald McKenzie Harcourt appeared for sentence in Greymouth District Court on animal welfare charges, dating back to 2012, relating to his Crooked River farm.

Jason Dale Rowling, 27, was yesterday sentenced in the Greymouth District Court to 200 hours of community work for wilful ill-treatment of an animal.

A District Court judge has slapped down a pending case against KiwiRail over alleged poisonous fumes in a South Island after the state-owned enterprise sought a hearing to dispute some of the facts.

A West Coast farmer had his milk supply contract cancelled after Westland Milk Products learned he was subject to an animal welfare investigation, a court was told.

Greymouth firefighters had little time to rest at the weekend, fielding nine calls from Friday afternoon until early today.

A fox terrier came off second best in Blaketown yesterday when it took on a much larger dog.

It was a case of like mother like daughter in the Greymouth District Court yesterday as two members of the same family were convicted of shoplifting.

A Blaketown man who was convicted of receiving thousands of dollars of goods from a series of burglaries around Greymouth, was yesterday jailed for nine months.

A West Coast man made the trip after an ongoing phone problem worsened, leaving people in parts of South Westland with intermittent phone coverage.

"It was like hooking a hook on an angus bull and slapping it on the backside."

Gloriavale could lose millions of dollars in taxpayer funding over its opposition to identification numbers for preschoolers.

Three years after Solid Energy bought the moribund Pike River coalmine for $7.5 million, its saleable assets have been valued at just $1.48 million.

A rental vehicle was clocked doing 119kph in the 80kph zone near Paroa as the speeding driver headed to the Greymouth Railway Station to return the car.

A 70-year-old pig hunter was knocked unconscious after tumbling 10m down a waterfall in the upper Buller Gorge yesterday while in hot pursuit of his prey.

The inquiry into the sudden death of Cobden toddler Leith Hutchison, who died in April, is ongoing as police await forensic test results from overseas.

A West Coast man killed in a fatal crash near Christchurch on Sunday evening was a former Pike River miner.

A jet boat crash led to a South Island man suffering a fatal cardiac arrest as he was being treated for his injuries, a coroner has found.

A worker has been taken to hospital after being injured in an accident at the Pike River mine site this morning.

The victim of a burglary was hustled out of a courtroom and warned by the judge after she was found taking photos on her phone of the three men accused.

A Paroa woman facing charges of possession of cannabis for supply, possession of methamphetamine and possession of a weapon is clinging to a hope she can be let go without convictions.

A concerned motorist snatched the keys from another vehicle after it was driven around a roundabout on the wrong side of the road.

The woman who put Gloriavale cult leader Hopeful Christian in prison says he is no man of God and labelled him a “pervert”.

The woman who put Gloriavale Christian Community guru Hopeful Christian in prison for indecent assault has had her name suppression lifted so she can tell her story.

Pike River Mine survivor Daniel Rockhouse says he was humbled to accept an award for bravery at an investiture ceremony at Government House this morning.

The parents of a 15-month-old Greymouth boy who died in Auckland’s Starship Hospital last month have been spoken to by police.

A Rotomanu farmer who stood trial in March for his part in the starvation and death of nearly 800 cows has been found guilty.

Runanga 11-year-old Aaron Hoy recently became what is claimed to be the youngest person in the world to achieve a black belt in the martial art of Nin-Ka-Do.

A Dunollie man in his early 80s became stranded on his roof yesterday - for the second time in as many months.

A 47-year-old man who said he had been growing cannabis plants to help treat his spina bifida and irritable bowel syndrome was given a 12-month suspended sentence.