A group of children as young as 11 were beaten in a late-night street attack in Masterton by a teenager armed with a length of wood, police say.

A Masterton woman who defrauded Work and Income of $91,000 was yesterday sentenced to home detention and community work.

A Masterton teenager with a plastic gun sparked an armed police call-out and cordon after he was seen brandishing the toy at passing motorists.

A 14-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in Masterton's Colombo Rd on Saturday night, police say, just a month after another sex attack.

A teenager whose driving rampage included deliberately ramming two police cars has been warned he's on the path to prison.

A forestry worker has been found guilty of assaulting his partner and trying to hit her with a claw hammer.