A Hastings woman who died following an overdose made two calls to emergency helplines that went unanswered before her death.

At least one Fire Service crew was remaining overnight at the scene of an acid spill on a manufacturing site in the Whakatu Industrial Park between Napier and Hastings.

Two men have died after a car crashed on a rural road and rolled 600m down a bank near Te Hauke, south of Hastings.

Hawkes Bay and East Coast Aero Club president Bruce Govenlock says the deaths of his friend and a UK pilot in today's plane crash were a "terrible tragedy''.

Hastings' Mayor has criticized the sentence of a local man who broke his baby daughter's legs and was released from prison after little more than 12 months.

Police in Hastings are appealing for help after a teenage girl was sexually assaulted after she parted from a friend in a park and continued walking alone.

A man accused of sexually assaulting an 87-year-old Hastings woman in her home has had an interim name suppression order further extended.

A knife-wielding man made off with a bag of cash after holding up a Hastings service station last night.

A man was critically injured when his motorbike struck a sheep on a road south of Hastings yesterday.

A 4.2 magnitude earthquake struck south of Hastings in the early hours of this morning.

Several witnesses have reported seeing a man who matches the description of a suspect wanted wanted in relation to the attack and sexual violation of an 87-year-old woman.

A 5-year-old boy battling for his life after an alleged hit and run in Flaxmere has taken "a turn for the worse" in Starship children's hospital.

A man who seriously injured his 6-year-old daughter when he crashed his overloaded quad bike while driving drunk avoided prison due to the "appalling experience".

Two people have admitted to selling rock lobster gathered with authorisation for whanau gatherings.

A Hawkes Bay teacher with a conviction for aggravated robbery has pleaded guilty to stealing a pair of sunglasses.

As drought grips the country, the Government is promoting giant dams to irrigate dry farmland. Geoff Cumming investigates whether the biggest of these plans will work for farmers, investors and environmentalists

A 34-year-old Hastings man has died while diving at a remote beach in central Hawke's Bay.

Burning cowpats proved problematic at a large grass fire in Te Hauke, south of Hastings.