Staff at a prison where a Dunedin man died in custody knew he was coming with drugs concealed in his body, a Coroners Court hearing has heard.

Car buyers appear unlikely to face charges as a police investigation into the Dunedin City Council's alleged $1.5 million Citifleet fraud draws to a close.

Dunedin police were shocked to find a 10-year-old girl behind the wheel of a car being poorly driven on Saturday night.

A pilot has escaped a light aircraft crash in Western Southland this afternoon.

A huge macrocarpa tree exploded, sending pieces 70m into the air, after it was struck by lightning during a spectacular storm in Dunedin yesterday.

"It's a shame it wasn't a good old Kauri door", says the owner of a Dunedin flat damaged by an English rugby league star.

An England league player is facing disciplinary action after being filmed destroying a door at a student flat in Dunedin yesterday.

A city-wide blackout left Dunedin streets in the dark for half an hour last night, as concerns are raised about the reliability of the city's street lighting.

A woman who was hit by a ute in Dunedin on Saturday remains in a serious but stable condition in Dunedin Hospital.

A 36-year-old Dunedin man may be charged after allegedly bringing a knife into the central Dunedin Work and Income New Zealand office.

Senior students went to the rescue of an Otago Boys' High School rowing eight when their skiff was hit by a powerboat driven by their coach in Otago Harbour yesterday morning.

The Otago University student behind a "Rack Appreciation Society" Facebook page where members shared explicit pictures of young women says he's sorry.

With knocking knees and tears in her eyes, Ruth Jamieson accepted Sam Gilchrist's romantic proposal, as the crowd whistled and clapped.

Sam Gilchrist's halftime proposal to Ruth Jamieson at the Forsyth Barr stadium was met with cheers from the 3,500 strong crowd. Photos by Peter McIntosh.

The University of Otago's reputation has been ''sullied'' by an explicit Facebook page, vice-chancellor Prof Harlene Hayne says.

Police are working to identify and dispose of a suspected corroded mortar in a building in Dunedin.

A logging truck driver who led police on a "bizarre" high-speed chase after being pepper-sprayed was eventually subdued with a Taser.

A secret Facebook page where students shared explicit pictures of young women is an example of an underlying "rape culture" at University of Otago, Rape Crisis says.

A Dunedin lawyer has today admitted being behind a Ponzi scheme where he stole $2.8 million from clients over 21 years.

Firefighters are battling a large scrub fire near Dunedin.

The demolition worker who choked a Dunedin man to death in a bar toilet was a "parasite" who showed no remorse in court yesterday, a grieving uncle says.

Police are still in the dark as to what caused a Dutch visitor to lie down on a dimly-lit Wanaka road before he was run over by a taxi and killed last weekend.

A man who choked his victim in the toilet of a Dunedin bar has been sentenced to five years in prison, for the manslaughter of Ryan Court.

A register of Dunedin's earthquake-prone buildings has been made public for the first time, but it is likely to represent only the tip of the iceberg, the Dunedin City Council says.

A Dutch pedestrian killed when he was hit by a taxi in Wanaka at the weekend may have been lying on the road at the time, police say.

Police have not ruled out that a man struck and killed by a car in Wanaka overnight was lying in the road when he was hit.

Heterosexual Dunedin men Travis McIntosh and Matt McCormick were married by a celebrant before about 80 friends and family at Eden Park this morning.