Emergency services are responding to two separate car crashes at the moment.

Money from the cash register and cigarettes were stolen.

Three injured in crash near Kumeu

A digger has hit a gas main in Waimauku, North West of Kumeu, causing a leak.

A diesel spill briefly closed a section of State Highway 16 near Whenuapai this morning.

A woman barricaded herself in a hallway while a rampaging possum wreaked havoc in her home.

Women riding in style are being encouraged to show off their goods at a new car show being put on in a bid to help women's health.

Babies don't follow plans and little Esme Keene is no exception. She arrived before her dad managed to get her mum to hospital.

An Auckland strawberry grower failed to properly pay its seasonal workers and keep accurate records despite warnings.

A Kumeu cafe has been gutted by a fire which took hold overnight.

A truck driver whose vehicle was in a collision with a freight train at Kumeu yesterday was in a critical but stable condition in Auckland City Hospital last night after surgery.

New Zealand's wine sector is showing signs of a profit turnaround but is still not producing financial returns which would be acceptable to investors.

In the car on the way back to town, I asked the others how they'd star-rate the meal we'd just had and why.

In Auckland's rural west, Kumeu is lavishly blessed with appetite-teasing treats.

Cate Foster gets on her bike and enjoys the trails of Woodhill Forest - and the refreshment waiting at the end of her journey.

Oh the joy when my fine doctor, William Fergusson, told me there was a new French restaurant in Kumeu.

Long Italian lunches are compulsory at this beautiful and productive Mediterranean-style estate.

Delicious cheese is a serious business at Crescent Dairy Goats farm in Kumeu, writes Phil Parker.

Marketing language can be flowery, but for once they're right; this car really does sound like a choir of angels. Or at least the atonal church organ reverb that heralds a cinematic spiritual moment - and sets the air alive with sound.

Meet the new batch of contestants for New Zealand's Hottest Home Baker.

Think you have a way with words? Put your talent to good use and enter our caption competition - and don't forget to check back for the latest photos.

A new book by Shane Boocock features the best of adventure tourism in Auckland.

Three teenage boys have been praised as heroes for their actions after a serious collision.