Debbie Porteous

Being wary is the best bet, say police, after receiving several reports of people being swindled by a person offering vouchers for free or discounted holidays or jewellery.

We see them in the street, sometimes with lights flashing and sirens blaring. We see them on television attending various disasters, and those who find themselves the first at the scene of a car accident are certainly glad to see them come around the corner.

From November, activities in the Octagon will be screened live in the Dunedin Central police station watch house, on closed-circuit television.

A heavy police presence and a mostly good natured crowd resulted in a largely incident-free weekend in Dunedin, after earlier fears two major events could be a recipe for disorder.

The man dismissed last year as Otago District Health Board chairman after nearly $17 million was stolen from the board is "flabbergasted" one of the men involved is out of jail already.

It could be weeks before a Kaikorai Valley business is back to the way it was, after three large trees fell on a workshop, nearly trapping a worker inside.

The rape of a student while she slept in her North Dunedin flat should make students reassess their "open and relaxed" way of living, warns a Dunedin District Court judge.

Emergency services attend a crash in which a car landed on its side in Otago Harbour at low tide yesterday morning.

Three recent crashes on the same section of State Highway 1 north of Dunedin will be investigated in depth by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), after emergency services attributed the crashes to black ice.

Like most things he does, Senior Sergeant Brian Benn, of Dunedin, took the news he was to be awarded a Queen's Service Medal in good humour.

People using boats at Taieri Mouth over the holiday weekend are being warned to proceed with "great care", as the entrance to the river is no longer where it used to be.

Police have commended the actions of two Dunedin constables who laid a complaint about the behaviour of colleagues last night found guilty of kicking a man who was face down on the ground being restrained.

St John staff in the South will be prepared for almost any scenario in a few weeks, after taking delivery of 16 large blue bins that will each hold enough supplies to triage 10 people in a mass injury emergency.