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

Family celebrations were ruined when Anita Cranston took thousands of dollars in deposits for a Fiji holiday home at the centre of legal action, a court has been told.

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.

Police are investigating after a 12-year-old boy was hospitalised falling off a sled being towed by a quad bike.

A Hawkes Bay woman who stole more than $660,000 from her employer sat at a desk next to the owner of the business she was fleecing.

A 56-year-old man has been flown to hospital in critical condition after being trapped when his excavator rolled 50-metres down a bank.