A coroner has laid blame for the death of a student killed in a bridge swinging accident in 2009 on the man who failed to check the rope.

A police search and rescue team looking for missing Pahiatua man John Campbell have found a body. Mr Campbell, 64, was last seen leaving his Pahiatua home, in the Tararua district, for work at 6.45am yesterday.

Bridge swing operator Alistair McWhannell was today sentenced to 400 hours community service for the manslaughter of a student who fell to her death last year.

Superstars descend on Woodville but it was a local lad who emerged triumphant.

Blood, fat and discarded pieces of butchered animals were spread 15km on SH2 after a tailgate opened on a truck.