An 8-year-old girl is in Hawke's Bay Hospital after being shot in the stomach with an air rifle by another child.

Health officials are concerned clusters of the harmful H1N1 virus, responsible for the 2009 swine flu pandemic, are appearing unseasonably early.

Engineers have identified further structural problems within the Hawke's Bay Opera House precinct.

A Hawke's Bay winegrower is picking this year's Chardonnay crop to be the region's best ever vintage.

A Civil Aviation Authority inquiry is under way this afternoon into a fatal helicopter crash in a forestry block near Gisborne this morning in which a 53-year-old local man died.

A man in an arranged marriage has been found guilty of using his wife as a sex slave, during which he raped, beat and threatened to kill her.

The boss of the Ruataniwha dam project has defended his $84k pay hike, saying the ensuing criticism is 'just the reality of a high-profile public role.'

'You should be ashamed of yourself,' an ex-cop told a judge who ordered him to pay $98 in reparation to a shopkeeper he assaulted with a Lotto ticket.

A man charged with dangerous driving in relation to the death of a pet dog on Haumoana Beach has pleaded not guilty.

A man who died while hunting in a remote area of Hawke's Bay is believed to have suffered a medical condition, emergency services say.

Police have made three arrests in the last 12 hours relating to two serious crimes in Hawkes Bay.

A man suffered suspected neck and head injuries after a diving accident near Napier yesterday.

A repeat pilot impersonator sentenced to 300 hours' community work for flying a plane without a license has had an appeal against his sentence dismissed.

Hawke's Bay's bike trails are flat and hard-packed, making easy riding for all the family.

Heading to the Hawkes Bay with your family? Here are five places the kids will love.

'It could've been a child.' A man has been arrested and charged over an incident where a quad bike hit and killed a puppy on Haumoana Beach.

A Napier man will serve 300 hours community service, after he indicated he was interested in buying a plane, said he was a pilot, flew the aircraft - all without a licence.

Former Ikaroa-Rawhiti by-election candidate Maurice Wairau has been charged with attempted murder.

Emergency department nurse Kay Hamilton watched helplessly as the life drained from her fox terrier puppy after she was hit by a speeding quad bike.

A young boy was subjected to a 'savage and prolonged' attack on a Hawke's Bay cycleway after he yelled out a greeting to a cyclist.

Eight members of a family who were injured when their van hurtled down a cliff on the Napier Taupo road last week are recovering well in hospital, a family member says.

A man killed when his jetboat spun out of control and crashed into a tree west of Hastings at the weekend was an experienced boater who was "so looking forward" to the trip.

The partner of a jetboater killed after hitting a tree is traumatised after a shocking high-speed tragedy marred a summer outing on a Hawke's Bay river yesterday.