A Westport man has told a jury the 8.5kg of cannabis police found in his home and vehicle was all for his own use.

The masked and armed intruders who terrorised a West Coast couple last week had targeted their victims, police revealed today.

The driver of a car parked at the Blaketown tiphead last night was dragged from his vehicle, threatened with a knife and assaulted.

A West Coast man who pushed a bicycle into the path of a car, only to find the driver was an off-duty policeman, appeared in court yesterday.

Confidential medical notes about up to 65 mental health patients are still missing after being left on a Wellington bus.

A West Coast council is considering the creation of an "eco cemetery".

Conservationists fighting a decision to allow an Australian mining company to dig for coal on the West Coast's Denniston Plateau have suffered a major setback today.

A High Court hearing gets underway in Christchurch this morning as environmental groups try more ways to stall mining on the Denniston Plateau.

Australian mining company Bathurst Resources has passed a crucial hurdle to establishing an open cast coal mine on the West Coast's Denniston Plateau.

A fracas at a West Coast funeral wake left one innocent bystander unconscious and his brother nursing a bruised head, the Greymouth District Court heard yesterday.

Arnott Heights residents hope to convince authorities to install a pedestrian crossing in the Greymouth suburb, but in the meantime one resident has painted their own.

A high-profile West Coast criminal lawyer who tried to beat a third drink driving conviction by putting coins in his mouth, and unplugging the breath-testing machine, has been suspended for three months and fined $12,000.

Mixed weather is expected in much of the country this week with people being told to prepare for wind and rain to hit - as well as occasional warm conditions.