"What I saw was beyond a joke. I ran out on to the road waving my arms and yelling, trying to get them to stop."

A small-town school has four empty classroom and has lost 80 students in four years following local job losses.

For the first time in more than 60 years, a small-town New Zealand newspaper could not print.

Credit Union South has confirmed the closure of its last West Coast branch, in Greymouth, from the end of the month.

A bounty to confirm the South Island kokako is still alive has led to 40 possible encounters.

A caregiver who belatedly admitted causing the death of a toddler after shaking it so violently in frustration has been jailed five and a half years.

A Buller woman has become the first woman to head a rugby board in New Zealand.

A former owner of sunken vessel Francie says NZ risks another major boating tragedy if maritime rules are not overhauled.

GNS said it could be a delayed aftershock from 1994.

Another witness has reported seeing strange lights over Greymouth last week.

A Westland District Council staff member is at the centre of an SFO probe.

A 33-year-old man has been charged after an axe attack in Greymouth.

Twenty-four-year-old Greymouth glass worker Sarah Bellis took on the big boys and won to be the last car standing in Saturday's demolition derby.

A terrible season with persistent rain, little sunshine and depressed prices is proving to be "the perfect storm" for stressed West Coast farmers.

Shelley Crooks has returned home and taken her first steps on crutches, after her incredible survival after being lost in rugged West Coast bush for six weeks.

A fault at the Kikiwa substation near St Arnaud knocked out power to almost the entire West Coast this morning.

The teen was attacked from behind by an unknown male, police say.

Trans-Tasman Resources is proposing to mine 50 million tonnes of iron ore per year off the coast of Patea in south Taranaki. Made with funding from NZ On AIr.

A large sinkhole which appeared yesterday caused consternation among residents of a Punakaiki neighbourhood.

Pike River families say a commitment to leave the coal mine unsealed and inspect it with drone technology falls short of their requests, but is still "very positive".

Pike River families are meeting with Prime Minister Bill English for the first time this afternoon.

The West Coast may finally be in line for more better days than bad ones next month, a national forecaster says.

Forest & Bird has mounted a court challenge over a decision by the Buller District Council to allow an open-cast coalmine on 100ha of public reserve land behind Westport township.

The Waiho (Waiau) River bridge at Franz Josef Glacier will be lifted yet again this winter, at a cost of $1.6 million.

Jobs are expected to go at the Hokitika dairy factory as Westland Milk Products starts a company-wide review.

An elderly Nelson man who was reported missing after failing to arrive in Westport yesterday has been found alive and well.

EXCLUSIVE: Shelley Crooks has broken her silence on her miracle, six-week survival in the rugged West Coast bush.

TVNZ confirmed this week season two of Coast New Zealand was currently in production.

Firefighters who battled the blaze which badly damaged the Midland rail line had to compete with 80km/h winds and 30m-high flames, says DOC.

Police are urging patience and extra care on West Coast roads as visitors start pouring in for a big sporting weekend.