NZ@Noon: Car chase, crash end in court

Photo / Peter de Graaf

Stories making headlines across the regions today includes a dramatic car chase, TV3 snubs Hastings and financial strife for Pastor Brain Tamaki.

Two Northland men will face a raft of charges when they appear in court today after leading police on a chase in a stolen ute and ramming a police car, shunting it down a seven-metre bank.

Former Rotorua Destiny Church leaders Brian and Hannah Tamaki bought five cars - including a luxury Audi - through a charity that is more than a year overdue in filing an annual return.

Hastings residents may rejoice at seeing their hometown appear on TV3's weather maps this week, after persistent complaints from a disgruntled viewer.

Major search operations in the Bay of Plenty were established yesterday after a hunter and a pair of trampers went missing. The trio recount their terrible ordeal.

Four skiers and snowboarders who plummeted 15 metres from a cliff and slid 200m over ice were airlifted from Mt Ruapehu in a dramatic high-altitude rescue on Sunday.

Rotorua gymnasts celebrating their first national championships had their spirits crushed on the final day by thieves who ransacked one of their vans and stole gear, medals and even their lunches.

And finally, hundreds of dollars' worth of goods have been stolen from a Masterton sports store by an acrobatic burglar.