John Burrows Baird, 74, lived alone and, his neighbours said, kept to himself.

Headwear of all sizes, colours and styles stole the show at the official iD Dunedin Fashion Week launch.

Volunteers cleaning Dunedin's beaches for Sea Week were dismayed to find someone had been using the beach as a personal rubbish dump.

A man who sexually assaulted a young woman in a Dunedin park last September was on parole at the time from a lengthy prison sentence for serious sexual offending.

An autistic man was told ''go home to China'' in a racist verbal attack in central Dunedin this week.

Three men on a lunchtime surf off the coast of Dunedin saved a group of schoolgirls being swept away in a rip.

A man is in intensive care at Dunedin Hospital after he was hit by a car near Dipton last night.

Two students who fell off the roof of the same Dunedin flat within minutes of each other say the incidents are a reminder for students to think before they act.

The man allegedly behind three armed robberies of a Dunedin dairy, which left the owner upset and wanting out of the business, was arrested by police last night.

The annual migration of students back to Dunedin has begun, with the influx of young people providing a boost to local businesses.

A teenager has been remanded on bail and four others also face charges following a police pursuit through Dunedin that went for 46km and reached speeds of up to 135km/h.

A Clyde youth has been warned about his sick behaviour after being convicted on two charges of "branding" teenagers with a heated cigarette lighter.

A man who died when a dinghy capsized near Dunedin on Tuesday was a keen fisherman who loved to spin a yarn.

A trio behind an alleged "chop shop" near Mosgiel allegedly used social media to taunt the owner of a stolen vehicle they had dismantled, police say.

A Mongrel Mob member who used a hunting knife on a rival gang member early last year has been jailed for three years and eight months.

A man charged with attempting to murder a young mother he stabbed and tried to smother has been convicted on three other charges from the attack.

A man Tasered after he barricaded himself in a room and threatened self-harm is unlikely to face any charges, police say.

Police are investigating two suspected arsons in Dunedin overnight.

A Dunedin teen brought the Taieri Gorge tourist train to a shuddering stop yesterday after dropping his iPhone.