A hitchhiker has been seriously injured after being hit by a car in the western Bay of Plenty this morning.

A large fire has engulfed a cool store and pack house building near Te Puke overnight.

Police helped a family member administer CPR to a 12-year-old boy found with a life-threatening chest wound at a Bay of Plenty property this afternoon.

Former cop and convicted rapist Brad Shipton has a rare and aggressive form of dementia.

Te Puke was decked out in pink as locals came out in force to congratulate MasterChef winners Kasey and Karena Bird.

A walking party of 19 is at the centre of a land rescue attempt from emergency services unfolding near Te Puke this morning.

An eighty-three-year-old's theft of almost $215,000 in benefit payments was only uncovered when she was seriously injured in a crash with a fuel tanker.

Emergency services are rushing to the scene of a car crash in Te Puke where one person is trapped.

A car explosion has resulted in serious burns for a Te Puke man working on an early morning fix-it job.

The man who knocked out former Bay of Plenty Steamers player Simon Chisholm during a rugby game has pleaded guilty.

A young huntaway that was seized from its owner after becoming badly malnourished has bounced back in the care of a loving Bay of Plenty family.