Credit Union South has confirmed the closure of its last West Coast branch, in Greymouth, from the end of the month.

A woman who stole a cellphone from the Greymouth Courthouse office stood in the court dock yesterday to admit the theft.

A jetboater has gone viral on social media after posting a misadventure in his boat on Facebook.

GNS said it could be a delayed aftershock from 1994.

Another witness has reported seeing strange lights over Greymouth last week.

A 33-year-old man has been charged after an axe attack in Greymouth.

The teen was attacked from behind by an unknown male, police say.

Pike River families say a commitment to leave the coal mine unsealed and inspect it with drone technology falls short of their requests, but is still "very positive".

The daily picket by mine families and supporters has resulted in West Coast contractors refusing to do the sealing work.

Twenty-nine figures stood in silence on the Pike River Mine access road this morning - each decked out in overalls, work boots, miner's helmets and the name tags of the 29 men who died in the 2010 mine disaster.

KiwiRail is offering full refunds to Tranz Alpine passengers as it anticipates the fire-hit rail link between Canterbury and the West Coast could be out for at least six weeks.

An English visitor who found Shelley Crooks six weeks after she was reported missing describes the moment the pair met on a West Coast track.

Pike River Mine families have been granted a meeting with PM Bill English, on February 15, as Parliamentary committee considers sealing of mine.

An outdoors survival expert says water and shelter were the keys to staying alive for unexpected and lengthy times in the bush.

"Nobody knows, until it actually happens to you." - Raywynne Richmond's 42-year-old daughter, Kim, has been missing for six months.

A fire burning on the tracks of the Christchurch to Greymouth rail line has brought the TranzAlpine and some freight services to a

The Local Government Commission's review of the structure of local government on the West Coast is a "complete waste of money", says Westland Mayor Bruce Smith.

An unexploded mortar shell found by children at the historic goldmining town of Waiuta has been deactivated by the army bomb disposal squad.

A man was so angry he did not get his chicken nuggets, he jumped on the counter at McDonald's and sprayed Nerf gun foam bullets around the fast-food outlet.

Two neighbours are in court over loud music one describes as screeching classical-type music and the other as soothing jazz or Dave Dobbyn.

Police have released more information about the movements of a woman who has been missing since December 22.

A West Coast woman was granted final name suppression after she was convicted yesterday on two counts of forging a document for financial gain, defrauding others of $30,000.

About 250 people were bused up the hillside to the Strongman Mine site on Saturday for a poignant ceremony to commemorate the tragedy there 50 years ago.

Man charged with disorderly behaviour after firing Nerf guns in Greymouth McDonald's restaurant.

South Island police are concerned for the wellbeing of two missing people and ask anyone with information to contact them.

More than 200 people gathered this morning for a minute's silence 50 years on from the Strongman Mine disaster.

Both the Grey and Buller rivers were still rising at noon today, but civil defence said the rate had slowed.

NZTA is prioritising clearing Lewis Pass, the main transport link between Picton and Christchurch since November's big earthquake.

Labour leader Andrew Little is proposing a new solution to recover bodies in the Pike River coal mine.

The worst of the West Coast's wet weather should be over by dawn tomorrow, says Hokitika weather observer Mark Crompton.