A 3-year-old child has died after being kicked by a horse near Taihape this afternoon.

Nearly a quarter of people invoiced for St John ambulance treatment aren't paying - leaving the emergency service millions of dollars out of pocket.

"He was just lying on the ground screaming." A five-year-old's condition after a suspected hit and run is now described as "critical".

Emergency services are attending a report of a person being hit by a car in central Tauranga.

A 25-year-old man has fallen 50 metres onto rocks in a paragliding accident at an Auckland beach.

A number of senior management at St John will lose their jobs in a huge shake-up of the under-pressure ambulance service. A new uniform is also planned.

St John has admitted an initiative to replace ambulances with single-crew vehicles has backfired, resulting in longer waits for some patients.

A Dunedin father says he was tossed around his house "like paper" by his son trying to go cold turkey from the synthetic cannabis product, K2.

A heart attack victim taken to hospital in an ambulance driven by a taxi driver has been billed by St John Ambulance for the ride.

An Auckland man who gave CPR to a toddler found face down in a hot pool has played down his actions.

In a bid to cut down unnecessary hospital admissions, five Auckland organisations have set up a temporary 'safe house' for out-of-control revellers.

Neighbours say the 42-year-old was burned in her Whakatu house, 5km north of Hastings, after a day-long domestic dispute on Christmas Day.

Neighbours heard screams that "somebody was on fire" before emergency services discovered a badly burned couple on Christmas Day.

A 19-month-old girl has suffered deep bites to her face and other head injuries in an attack by a dog, believed to belong to her family.

A Papamoa man who was caught in a massive chip-heater hot-water tank explosion has emerged from a coma and is "doing really well" says his wife.