A win for Waiheke Island's Cable Bay Vineyards

A landmark noise prosecution against the well known vineyard has failed - with the judge ruling the accidental deletion of crucial evidence by Auckland Council torpedoed the case.

The council charged Cable Bay, seeking convictions and a fine of up 600-thousand-dollars.

In a just-released finding, the judge ruled the council had failed to prove the latest charge, beyond reasonable doubt.

It transpires that after a report on the recorded noise measurements taken in February 2018 was filed, the electronic noise file was "accidentally lost".

Judge David Kirkpatrick ruled as a result, no one had been able to analyse any of the data in that file.