NZ@Noon: Driver escapes from water-filled ditch

A 20-year-old Mid North man was lucky to get out of this ute after it flipped.

Stories making headlines around the regions today include: an elderly women loses $24k and a driver makes a miraculous escape after his ute veers out of control.

Rescuers are amazed a Kaikohe man survived a crash in which his ute ended up upside-down and under water in a narrow drainage ditch.

A Napier grandmother says she has probably lost her $24,000 deposit following last week's voluntary liquidation of Mercy Renovators.

The moment where a performance jetskier's stunt went horribly wrong has been recorded on video - by the man who helped save his life moments later.

Have you seen this bag? A child's life might be at risk after she lost her bag holding vital medical equipment during the Kiwi and Toa Samoa league game at Whangarei's Toll Stadium.

The government appears to be backing away from a pre-election pledge to cover at least 90 per cent of the repair bill for road damage inflicted by winter storms in the Far North.

Flimsy rules and poor enforcement around size mismatches are putting children in harm's way on the rugby field, says a Masterton mother who has been campaigning for reform since witnessing a nasty injury.

New Zealand actor Cliff Curtis says receiving an art award has given him a shot of "creative energy".

And finally, Wanganui's Earl Bamber has achieved what no other New Zealand motor-racing driver has done, claiming the Porsche Supercup Series Championship in Austin, Texas, yesterday morning.