Development West Coast chairman John Sturgeon has had his term cut short by four months.

Another witness has reported seeing strange lights over Greymouth last week.

A Westland District Council staff member is at the centre of an SFO probe.

A 33-year-old man has been charged after an axe attack in Greymouth.

Twenty-four-year-old Greymouth glass worker Sarah Bellis took on the big boys and won to be the last car standing in Saturday's demolition derby.

A terrible season with persistent rain, little sunshine and depressed prices is proving to be "the perfect storm" for stressed West Coast farmers.

Shelley Crooks has returned home and taken her first steps on crutches, after her incredible survival after being lost in rugged West Coast bush for six weeks.

A fault at the Kikiwa substation near St Arnaud knocked out power to almost the entire West Coast this morning.

The teen was attacked from behind by an unknown male, police say.

A teenager who showed no remorse for assaulting five people, including a police officer, will spend the next eight months behind bars.

A large sinkhole which appeared yesterday caused consternation among residents of a Punakaiki neighbourhood.

Pike River families say a commitment to leave the coal mine unsealed and inspect it with drone technology falls short of their requests, but is still "very positive".

Pike River families are meeting with Prime Minister Bill English for the first time this afternoon.

The West Coast may finally be in line for more better days than bad ones next month, a national forecaster says.

Forest & Bird has mounted a court challenge over a decision by the Buller District Council to allow an open-cast coalmine on 100ha of public reserve land behind Westport township.

The Waiho (Waiau) River bridge at Franz Josef Glacier will be lifted yet again this winter, at a cost of $1.6 million.

Jobs are expected to go at the Hokitika dairy factory as Westland Milk Products starts a company-wide review.

An elderly Nelson man who was reported missing after failing to arrive in Westport yesterday has been found alive and well.

Firefighters who battled the blaze which badly damaged the Midland rail line had to compete with 80km/h winds and 30m-high flames, says DOC.

Police are urging patience and extra care on West Coast roads as visitors start pouring in for a big sporting weekend.

The daily picket by mine families and supporters has resulted in West Coast contractors refusing to do the sealing work.

A man who admitted saying, "you spy, you die" during a phone call to the Security Intelligence Service (SIS) has been convicted.

About 40 per cent of offenders sentenced to community work in Greymouth do not bother turning up, the Greymouth District Court heard last week.

Twenty-nine figures stood in silence on the Pike River Mine access road this morning - each decked out in overalls, work boots, miner's helmets and the name tags of the 29 men who died in the 2010 mine disaster.

West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor has stoked the campaign to relocate the historic steam train the Kingston Flyer to the West Coast.

Kiwi Rail says 17,000 Tranz Alpine bookings are affected by the closure of the Midland Line after bridges were badly damaged in a scrub fire at the weekend.

KiwiRail is offering full refunds to Tranz Alpine passengers as it anticipates the fire-hit rail link between Canterbury and the West Coast could be out for at least six weeks.

An English visitor who found Shelley Crooks six weeks after she was reported missing describes the moment the pair met on a West Coast track.

Pike River Mine families have been granted a meeting with PM Bill English, on February 15, as Parliamentary committee considers sealing of mine.

An outdoors survival expert says water and shelter were the keys to staying alive for unexpected and lengthy times in the bush.