Severe thunderstorms may hit Dunedin, North Otago and Clutha this afternoon bringing heavy rain and hail as large as 20mm to some areas, MetService warns.

Stunned staff and some 100 swimmers watched in disbelief as a fun-loving sea lion waddled through reception and cafe to "swim laps" in a public pool yesterday.

Swimmers were this afternoon evacuated from a public pool after a sea lion "waddled through" reception and entered the water.

An investigation into the deaths of an elderly couple whose bodies were found in their Dunedin home has been completed.

Police investigating the unexplained deaths of an elderly couple who were found dead yesterday say the deaths are not suspicious.

Police are investigating after an elderly Dunedin couple was found dead in their home this morning.

Former Dunedin mayor Peter Chin is recovering in hospital after being revived by an Air New Zealand crew shortly after takeoff.

Mike Rankin counts himself lucky, despite his new truck plummeting over a bank at his Caversham home.

A fire which destroyed a house and damaged another was started by a Dunedin man trying to inhale cannabis over an lpg heater, the Dunedin District Court has been told.

Silver Fern Farms faces a bill of up to $3 million after it was ruled it made more than 100 Dunedin seasonal meat workers redundant.

A surge in the supply of methamphetamine is being pushed by gangs on a "willing market" in the south, police say.

The case of a promising young rugby player who avoided conviction for breaking a man's jaw has again raised concerns that sportspeople have a 'get-out-of-jail-free card'.

An osteopath who left electric acupuncture needles in a patient's backside while he went to a cafe for sausage rolls has been found to have discredited his profession.

Dunedin motorists were stunned to see a man sitting on a couch and holding on to the rear of a moving car as it left a trail of sparks behind him.

A former Dunedin student and aspiring model has been jailed for four years on drugs charges.

A male and female constable were attacked in Dunedin's CBD and police say it shows why the city's bars need to close earlier.

Two Dunedin police officers were violently attacked while breaking up a fight in the Octagon this morning.

A "predatory" Dunedin lawyer who stole $2.8 million from 32 clients over 21 years in one of the longest-running frauds in NZ history has today been jailed for more than eight years.

Dunedin Botanic Garden staff are on high alert following a break-in by someone they believe was looking for hallucinogenic drug-producing cacti.

A fish tank at cash-strapped Dunedin Hospital cost $73,000 to install and more than $1000 a week to run in its first year.

Staff at a prison where a Dunedin man died in custody knew he was coming with drugs concealed in his body, a Coroners Court hearing has heard.

Car buyers appear unlikely to face charges as a police investigation into the Dunedin City Council's alleged $1.5 million Citifleet fraud draws to a close.

Dunedin police were shocked to find a 10-year-old girl behind the wheel of a car being poorly driven on Saturday night.

A pilot has escaped a light aircraft crash in Western Southland this afternoon.

A huge macrocarpa tree exploded, sending pieces 70m into the air, after it was struck by lightning during a spectacular storm in Dunedin yesterday.

"It's a shame it wasn't a good old Kauri door", says the owner of a Dunedin flat damaged by an English rugby league star.

Scottish tourist Connor Robertson came to New Zealand in search of a holiday and somebody else's wedding. Here's why.