A man who saved a young girl from drowning yesterday then went home to get his dive gear to recover the body of a young man.

Police have confirmed a 19-year-old man has died while swimming in Kawarau River on Saturday.

A mentally unwell prisoner was restrained with his hands behind his back for 21 hours a day for 10 weeks, a report has revealed.

Parts of the North Island are expected to hit 30 degrees today, with Hawke's Bay getting the biggest dose of the sun's rays.

One person has died and another has been airlifted to hospital with critical injuries.

In the aftermath of the crash that killed a young farmer, the sentencing judge said ''this is not a North Otago issue in isolation'' but rather an issue for all of NZ.

Queenstown Police are floating the idea of a 24-hour ban on public drinking in the wake of last Saturday's Crate Day chaos in the resort.

Schools are struggling to recruit hundreds of teachers ahead of the 2017 school year.

The third stage of a subdivision next to Jack's Point golf course sold for between $250,000 and $300,000.

A man who put a 3-year-old into a scalding bath, causing the boy's skin to "flake off", has been jailed for nearly four years.

The more porn a man watches, the less sexually intimate he is with his female partner, a new study suggests.

A 40-year-old man had been charged with arson after three fires in Dunedin overnight.

Missing Dunedin woman Alice Tocher has been found and is in a Brisbane hospital, her father has confirmed.

An historic four-storey building near Dunedin's Octagon has been damaged in a suspicious blaze.

Police have released the last name of a Chinese National killed in a three car crash on State Highway 1 near Moeraki last week.

One of the men allegedly behind the Dunedin burglary of a huge weapons cache can now be named.

The signs of summer are among us with pohutakawa trees flowering already and forecasters say the official first day of the season on Thursday will be calm and dry.

A Dunedin mother-of-three missing since Thursday last week is in Australia, police have confirmed.

Dunedin's 'arty' suburb is worthy of a film, writes Elisabeth Easther.

Santa is not coming to Dunedin-based lines company Delta this year after chief executive Grady Cameron cancelled end-of-year function.

Motorists should think twice before parking on a roadside near Dunedin Airport.

It may be time to put away the togs - scorching temperatures on Wednesday aren't likely to be repeated today, the MetService says. While

Three young children have been treated in hospital for potentially-deadly meningococcal disease.

A Dunedin caregiver who imported methamphetamine and LSD for his birthday party has avoided a jail term.

One person is dead after a four-car crash on State Highway 1 near Moeraki this afternoon.

Stephanie Holmes has a hard time tearing herself away from her suite's stunning views.

A Dunedin man who burned down his family home days after his marriage fell apart can now be named.

Police might think twice before pinging John Croawell with a speeding ticket again.

Queenstown police are investigating after allegations of a racist incident outside a restaurant at the weekend in the resort town.

It's time to reach for the sunblock and head to the beach with the country set to swelter in 30C temperatures.