Canterbury

A young woman and a firefighter were swept up to 30 metres down North Canterbury's Ashley River overnight, after four people were stranded on the roof of a 4WD.

Four staff were attacked and injured by a group of inmates at Christchurch Men's Prison, but the altercation was quickly brought under control, the Corrections Department says.

Some popular Canterbury swimming spots cleaner than a year ago, but it's a long drive to find somewhere safe to swim.

The country comes to town over the next three days for the Canterbury A&P Show in Christchurch.

The Christchurch City Council is investigating allegations of sub-standard welding work on five buildings.

Health authorities in Canterbury insist using water intended for farm animals as a back-up drinking water supply is safe.

Search and rescue teams have found two men who failed to return from a four-wheel drive trip in the MacKenzie District in the central South Island yesterday.

Passengers were evacuated on the Christchurch Airport runway after a bomb threat was made against an Air NZ flight from Palmerston North this afternoon.

The ACT Party is backing calls for stronger protection of property rights, because it says the government must not be allowed to bully people out of their homes.

Plans to source a small mid-Canterbury town's water from a water race used by farm animals has outraged residents.