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.

A 17-year-old boy killed this week on a Hastings orchard was a bright, ambitious kid with it "all in front of him" just days after finishing his final year at high school.

Police and labour inspectors are investigating a workplace accident today where a 17-year-old man died after falling from a motorbike.

A "horrendous" sexual assault on a teenage girl in Hastings has left neighbouring residents asking for increased security and fearing further attacks.

A pregnant woman and her partner were rescued by police in the Hawke's Bay last night after a rising river trapped them in the car they were living in.

A man was taken to hospital with burns to his face and hands when an explosion at a Dannevirke house blew a bedroom apart yesterday.

After a weekend in Hawkes Bay, Penny Lewis wonders why she didn't go earlier.

A passenger travelling 180km/h in a car put her feet against the dash as she fought to protect herself and a kidnapped 15-month-old baby.

The deaths of two teenage Flaxmere College students has prompted support from the Ministry of Education, after both girls died within a week of each other.

Five farmers killed in quad bike accidents all had trailers or spray units fitted to their bikes, and two had been using cannabis, a coroner has found.

A man is in a critical condition in hospital after receiving between 50 and 100 bee stings in an incident in Hawke's Bay today.

There's a lot more to this lovely area than just art deco buildings, writes Janet McAllister.

A woman has been arrested after two French tourists were pistol-whipped in an attack in Napier last night.

A flock of marvellous distractions await you at The Farm, writes Diana Balham.

The driver of a council tractor-mower is 'very shaken up' after he hit and killed a 4-year-old described by his gran as 'full of joy and bounce.'

New Zealand has halted all apple exports to China for the rest of the season after rot was found in several batches at the Chinese border.