A 7-year-old boy has made a remarkable recovery after being crushed by a children's motorised train at a Halloween event in Dunedin.

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.

"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.

An England league player is facing disciplinary action after being filmed destroying a door at a student flat in Dunedin yesterday.

A city-wide blackout left Dunedin streets in the dark for half an hour last night, as concerns are raised about the reliability of the city's street lighting.

A broken toe put missionary Pete Johnstone - recently returned from West Africa - at the centre of an Ebola scare in Dunedin.

Police are offering a $50,000 reward to crack a cold case concerning the suspected homicide of a Dunedin mother.

A woman who was hit by a ute in Dunedin on Saturday remains in a serious but stable condition in Dunedin Hospital.

A 36-year-old Dunedin man may be charged after allegedly bringing a knife into the central Dunedin Work and Income New Zealand office.

The Otago University student behind a "Rack Appreciation Society" Facebook page where members shared explicit pictures of young women says he's sorry.

With knocking knees and tears in her eyes, Ruth Jamieson accepted Sam Gilchrist's romantic proposal, as the crowd whistled and clapped.

Sam Gilchrist's halftime proposal to Ruth Jamieson at the Forsyth Barr stadium was met with cheers from the 3,500 strong crowd. Photos by Peter McIntosh.

The University of Otago's reputation has been ''sullied'' by an explicit Facebook page, vice-chancellor Prof Harlene Hayne says.

A box containing an old train set - and what was believed to be a corroded mortar bomb - triggered a major police callout in central Dunedin.

Women are being urged to come forward to police if they think they have been exploited on a recently shut down Facebook page.

Police are working to identify and dispose of a suspected corroded mortar in a building in Dunedin.

A secret Facebook page where students shared explicit pictures of young women is an example of an underlying "rape culture" at University of Otago, Rape Crisis says.

A logging truck driver who led police on a "bizarre" high-speed chase after being pepper-sprayed was eventually subdued with a Taser.

A Dunedin lawyer has today admitted being behind a Ponzi scheme where he stole $2.8 million from clients over 21 years.

Firefighters are battling a large scrub fire near Dunedin.

The demolition worker who choked a Dunedin man to death in a bar toilet was a "parasite" who showed no remorse in court yesterday, a grieving uncle says.