A heroic mother has had a tearful reunion with a woman whom she helped to escape from a hammer-wielding man who pursued them in a car chase.

A mother-of-two is being hailed a hero after saving a woman from an attack by a hammer-wielding man who then pursued the pair and rammed her car during a violent car chase.

A man has been arrested over the theft of more than 20 geckos taken from two separate locations in Northland over the past 10 days.

Seven native forest geckos have been snatched from their enclosure at a Northland conservation park.

A jury in the Whangarei trial of drug dealer Kyle Skerten has found him guilty of the manslaughter of his 15-month-old stepson, but not guilty of murder.

A 15-month-old boy could have suffered fatal head injuries after using his mattress to bounce out of his cot, a murder trial has been told.