A random act of kindness brought 92-year-old fire victim Pearl Sanger close to tears after she received a signed novel from writer Lee Child, not yet released in NZ.

A Whangarei man jailed for two years and two months for violent offending during a gang feud has been released on parole with strict conditions.

A mother of four who burgled her neighbour's home has been given community work and a stern telling off for her actions.

A female dial-a-driver was thrown from the vehicle she was called to drive home after a drunk driver tried to steal it in Whangarei.

Gang members hindered emergency staff who were searching for a missing person following a house fire in Whangarei overnight.

A domestic violence victim whose partner took her phone so she couldn't call police managed to raise the alarm via Facebook instead.

The wasabi sauce wasn't the only hot food item at a Whangarei sushi joint - the paua being used was also hot, having been bought illegally.

Police have officially named one-year-old Atreyu Taylor-Matene, the Whangarei youngster at the centre of a homicide investigation.

A man who admitted causing the death of a motorist can't remember what happened in the few seconds his car veered across State Highway 1 last year.

A small bay in Northland could be filled in to create a boat ramp to accommodate the number of boats launched off the beach over a few weeks in summer.

An off-duty policeman tailed a stolen car until other officers and armed offenders squad members stopped and arrested the man who was wanted after a knife-point robbery.

Police have carried out a blitz on truancy in Whangarei, where nearly a third of students at some schools are absent at any given time.

A Whangarei man who was part of an elaborate plan that included robbing a tavern and later targeting Asian families in Auckland has been sentenced to nearly 10 years in jail.

A drunk Whangarei man held his teenage daughter in his room and attacked her with a machete after she refused to let him have more wine.

The outcome of a Human Rights Commission complaint by a lesbian couple who say they were discriminated against when a Whangarei lodge would not let them share a bed will only be made public if both sides agree.

A Whangarei accountant has been suspended and ordered to pay $8000 after he misled the public by claiming to be a chartered accountant on his website.

A Whangarei taxi driver was taken aback by the generosity of a young man who returned to pay his fare - nearly a week after doing a runner.

A man has serious injuries to his head and body after being attacked with a chainsaw.