A Christchurch nursing student says her allowance covers her bills "pretty much to the dollar", leaving her only $4 a week for food, fuel and other costs.

As teachers across Christchurch struggle with students' rising needs, a group of retirees affectionately known as the "Grandees" is stepping up to help them in the classroom.

John Atkins has been a volunteer at Coastguard Sumner for the past 30 years and has no plans of stopping. The 77-year-old Mt Pleasant resident talks about his most memorable rescues, how to stay safe on the water and what has kept him going.

A lone operator at a Christchurch dairy was left terrified after a group rushed into her store, confronted her with a machete and made demands for cash, cigarettes, vapes and confectionery.

A child was seriously injured after being hit by a car on a busy Christchurch road on Tuesday morning.

A veterinary specialist says it was shocking to see another serious dog attack in Christchurch over the weekend, just days after a woman was mauled to death in Northland.

Retiring UC geotechnical engineer Misko Cubrinovski has spent a lifetime studying earthquakes, liquefaction and rebuilding cities - shaped by growing up in one disaster zone and working through another.

A Christchurch woman whose landlord tried to end her tenancy because of the state of her property has been allowed to continue to live in it - and discovered the law is on her side for her cat, thanks to new rules.