Ollie Williams thought he was going to die as he lay pinned beneath a jetboat on the Ngaruroro River, trapped underwater and running out of air.

Wind, not rain, proved to be the weapon of choice for the southerly storm that blasted through Hawke's Bay at the weekend.

A Hawkes Bay entertainer who sexually violated a teenage boy seven years ago has been jailed for three years and one month.

A Hawkes Bay man pointed a loaded shotgun at his partner's eight-year-old son to get him off the computer before firing a round into the screen, a court has heard.

A Hawkes Bay police officer has been charged with seven counts of indecent assault involving five different complainants.

A barman was robbed at gunpoint and assaulted while four patrons were attacked outside another pub in two violent episodes in Hawkes Bay at the weekend.

A 72-year-old suffered serious injuries when his van plunged 150 metres down a bank in Hawkes Bay.

An 18-month-old boy was rushed to hospital last night after swallowing what was believed to be a scented oil.

A date has been set for the trial of former Central Hawke's Bay mayor Hugh Hamilton on charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office and Financial Markets Authority.

A winery has lost 6000 litres of merlot after vandals opened a tank valve and left it to drain.