Waikato

A woman who was carjacked by a prisoner who escaped Waikato Hospital last month is shocked another prisoner from Spring Hill Corrections Facility has escaped from custody at the same hospital again.

A man has been arrested after a person was injured in a firearms incident in the Waikato town this morning.

Vanessa Helen Railey ploughed straight into the back of Raymond Mathews' vehicle at full speed.

The siblings left each other with significant injuries but their parents were too scared to take them to hospital for fear Oranga Tamariki would uplift them.

The transport agency says traffic moves more "steadily" with fewer lanes.

The Te Ruahi solar farm near Taupō will bring power to more than 100,000 customers.

The warning comes as rural insurer FMG says there is often a spike in quad bike roll-overs in the lead-up to Christmas.

The council is putting some of its surplus into environmental efforts, but not all councillors think it is a good idea.

It is believed to be the person who disappeared after jumping off a bridge into the river last Saturday.

Drivers are being told to delay unnecessary travel south of Cambridge after a crash on State Highway 1.

A former National MP and incumbent Hamilton City Councillor has been hired by the University of Waikato to advocate for its proposed third medical school.

The driver escaped largely unscathed today, after the car went up a bank, through a metal fence and crashed into a parked car, before finally coming to a halt on its side.

A total of eight fire trucks responded and found smouldering coming from one of the dryers.

A man shot dead on the Coromandel Peninsula on Friday has been described as a "loveable ratbag" and father of five boys.

The man has not been seen since briefly resurfacing on Saturday night.

A victim of a man who used various people's identities to hire a ute and thousands of dollars worth of equipment that was never returned said he has forgiven the offender and would like to catch up…

A spate of water-related deaths in the past 24 hours is a tragedy, Water Safety New Zealand says.

It follows an extensive search of the water and riverbank last night.

The crash was reported to emergency services around 5.35am.

The man sat quietly throughout the appearance in a blue prison jump-suit.