Waikato

Jason Lambert was accused of taking on concreting and landscaping jobs but not finishing them.

Three people taken to Middlemore Hospital, one in a serious condition.

One person has died after an overnight crash in Morrinsville.

A mother worries for her family's safety, after her son was attacked outside his high school.

Tim Macindoe wanted the ceremony brought outside as a symbol of the new council being more visible and approachable to the community.

The mayor says the district was hit by "severe storms" and a red warning should have been issued. Audio

Police are looking for two missing women who were last seen entering a Ngāruawāhia track on Monday afternoon

Access has been restored to communities in Ruapehu District who were isolated by flooding and storm damage.

A group of trampers in Raglan, west of Hamilton, have been rescued after becoming disorientated in the bush.

The city also voted to remove its Māori Ward.

Two 20-year-old men and a woman, 18, are facing intent to cause grievous bodily harm and aggravated burglarly charges.

Properties have been left filled with a muddy silt, fences flattened and paddocks are a spongy mess after the Awakino River burst its banks.

Heavy rain battered Waitomo in the early hours of yesterday morning, causing rivers to rise and flooding roads, farms and some houses.

Jamie Ward woke up to find a lake surrounding her house and says her family are lucky to have gotten out when they did.

Nathan Eketone-Mahara, 29, was a strong swimmer but got into trouble in the current, disappearing under the water.

Homes are under threat and emergency centres are preparing as heavy rain hammers farms.

Police say four people entered the premises in the suburb of Silverdale on Tuesday morning.

Police said the young man was injured at a Hamilton home.