The daily picket by mine families and supporters has resulted in West Coast contractors refusing to do the sealing work.

A man who admitted saying, "you spy, you die" during a phone call to the Security Intelligence Service (SIS) has been convicted.

About 40 per cent of offenders sentenced to community work in Greymouth do not bother turning up, the Greymouth District Court heard last week.

Twenty-nine figures stood in silence on the Pike River Mine access road this morning - each decked out in overalls, work boots, miner's helmets and the name tags of the 29 men who died in the 2010 mine disaster.

West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor has stoked the campaign to relocate the historic steam train the Kingston Flyer to the West Coast.

Kiwi Rail says 17,000 Tranz Alpine bookings are affected by the closure of the Midland Line after bridges were badly damaged in a scrub fire at the weekend.

KiwiRail is offering full refunds to Tranz Alpine passengers as it anticipates the fire-hit rail link between Canterbury and the West Coast could be out for at least six weeks.

An English visitor who found Shelley Crooks six weeks after she was reported missing describes the moment the pair met on a West Coast track.

Pike River Mine families have been granted a meeting with PM Bill English, on February 15, as Parliamentary committee considers sealing of mine.

"Nobody knows, until it actually happens to you." - Raywynne Richmond's 42-year-old daughter, Kim, has been missing for six months.

A fire burning on the tracks of the Christchurch to Greymouth rail line has brought the TranzAlpine and some freight services to a

Solid Energy has announced the closure of the Spring Creek Mine after failing to find a buyer.

Organisers of the Kathmandu Coast to Coast race have teamed up with a global environment group to ensure the iconic event leaves no trace upon the spectacular South Island countryside it traverses.

The Local Government Commission's review of the structure of local government on the West Coast is a "complete waste of money", says Westland Mayor Bruce Smith.

A South Island couple woke at 4am today to find their cat sodden - and their house swimming in 60cm-deep floodwaters.

An unexploded mortar shell found by children at the historic goldmining town of Waiuta has been deactivated by the army bomb disposal squad.

Police investigating the disappearance of Shelly Crooks, last seen at Punakaiki, are appealing for sightings of a female hitch-hiker and a sedan.

A strong, shallow earthquake has shaken the West Coast early today.

A treasurer of a popular West Coast speedway who stole more than $6000 in club cash has today avoided a jail sentence after repaying

Police today urged West Coast motorists to be patient on the roads, with the earlier Chinese New Year expected to boost self-driving tourist numbers.

Brogan Watt defies doctors to wed childhood sweetheart.

An elderly Buller man who appeared in the Greymouth District Court on a walking frame was yesterday jailed for 12 years on numerous sex offences, including rape.

Police are keeping an open mind about the whereabouts of a mother of four who was last seen at Punakaiki a month ago.

A man was so angry he did not get his chicken nuggets, he jumped on the counter at McDonald's and sprayed Nerf gun foam bullets around the fast-food outlet.

Two neighbours are in court over loud music one describes as screeching classical-type music and the other as soothing jazz or Dave Dobbyn.

Police have released more information about the movements of a woman who has been missing since December 22.

Police were delivering flyers about missing woman Shelly Crooks today in Punakaiki and nearby Fox River.

A collision between his mountain bike and a tree means West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor won't be clocking up airpoints anytime soon.

A West Coast woman was granted final name suppression after she was convicted yesterday on two counts of forging a document for financial gain, defrauding others of $30,000.

Kiwis have not been treated to the usual warm temperatures that January brings, with the mercury sitting lower than the same time last year.