New Zealand's top police have ignored a judge's recommendation and again denied diversion to an autistic man found taking light fittings in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake.

An unemployed man has been charged with stealing a 300-year-old ship's bell used to call parishioners to worship.

The country's top rugby team has come to the rescue after a Special Olympian's prized All Blacks shirt was stolen while he was training.