St John's Ambulance have described the attack on a sole female officer who was assaulted after she responded to a fake call for help in Hamilton as "absolutely despicable''.

Police say they are appalled that adults supplied a young boy with alcohol and concerned he was re-victimised when footage of his antics was posted on YouTube.

A scrub fire has forced a halt to train traffic outside Hamilton.

A Hamilton bistro has been destroyed by a fire today, devastating its owners.

A man has been arrested in connection to airgun shooting incidents in Hamilton - the latest involving a man being shot in the buttocks.

Daymion Koroheke was waiting for a pizza on Christmas Eve when he heard a loud gunshot and felt searing pain in his back.

A domestic stabbing in Hamilton this morning has led to warnings of the volatile mix of alcohol and increased Christmas financial pressure.

Danielle Wright takes her family on a nostalgic trip back to 50s New Zealand at a vintage car museum in Hamilton.

A body recovered from the Waikato River yesterday has been formally identified as missing Australian Paul Arber.

A body recovered from the Waikato River today was found by a group of teenage rowers from Hamilton Girls High School, police say.

The parents of a missing Australian tennis coach believe their son is still alive and have made a desperate plea for help from the public to find him.

A close friend of missing Australian tennis coach Paul Arber says a sighting of him in the Waikato River early on Sunday has given him hope that he is still alive.

Hamilton mayor Julie Hardaker says people are over the fluoridation issue and just want decisions made about their drinking water.

A man is dead after being involved in an alcohol-fuelled brawl at a Waikato property yesterday.

Work and Income New Zealand has apologised to a woman with a debilitating medical condition for placing her on a benefit requiring her to find work.

A woman ran over her partner several times with a car in front of stunned onlookers at Hamilton shops before fleeing from police and crashing into the Waikato River today.

A Canadian tourist suffered serious facial injuries when a fence post smashed through the windscreen of his car in a crash on Hamilton's southern outskirts last night.

Community social housing projects in Wellington, Tauranga and Hamilton have been announced by Housing Minister Nick Smith.

Hamilton residents are being advised to check their home security following a series of intruder incidents in the east of the city on Sunday.

The Mayor of Hutt City is vowing to visit a legal highs shop in Naenae this morning to tell its owner to stop selling synthetic drugs.

Two men were assaulted by a group of teenagers in Hamilton overnight in what police called a "cowardly attack".

A forensic examination into the suspicious death of a teenage girl in Hamilton yesterday has raised more questions than it has answered, police say.

A young pilot is in "deep shock" after crashing a light plane into another shortly after take off this morning on his very first solo flight.

A forensic examination into the death of a young Hamilton woman has raised more questions than it has answered for officers investigating her death.

The country is in for a mixed bag of weather over Labour Weekend, with sun, wind and rain predicted.