Bottles, homophobic slurs hurled at pipe band kids in Dunedin

The pipe band members say they were pelted with bottles and verbally abused by young men at a student flat. Photo / 123RF

Pipe band members in Dunedin for a competition at the weekend say they were pelted with bottles and subjected to verbal abuse from young men at a student flat.

A woman in the group said a man partying at the flat, described as "lanky'' with long scruffy hair, dropped his pants and exposed his genitals to a group of band members including children.

She has supplied a video in which a man at the property is heard unleashing a torrent of homophobic and racist slurs - including the N-word - at passers-by.

In response, the University of Otago has launched an investigation and described the alleged behaviour as ''abhorrent''.

While tenants at the flat were understood to be university students, it was unclear if they were responsible.

Two young men at the flat yesterday said they were not at the parties there at the weekend and claimed to have no knowledge of the incidents.

The woman who supplied the video is a senior member of one of two bands that travelled from the North Island for the New Zealand Pipe Band Championships.

She would not give her name or the name of the bands, citing fear of retribution on social media.

In the video she supplied, a man at the flat yells racist and homophobic slurs at other passers-by.

"F*** you, you little f******, you f****** little p**** little n*****, oi, yous [sic] are g** eh,'' he is heard saying.

The group, including children as young as 9, checked into the Cable Court Motel in Cumberland St on Thursday.

That evening, an all-night party started at a flat across the road.

The group called noise control but were told to direct their complaints to Campus Watch, who would contact police if required, she said.

Campus Watch was unable to stop the continuous partying, which escalated through the weekend, and the woman was unhappy with their response.

''It didn't feel safe for the kids because of the rank behaviour from the flat across the road.''

When the bands returned to the hotel wearing their Highland gear, including kilts, they were subject to homophobic insults, she said.

''They were hurling a fair bit of abuse.''

The revellers had also thrown bottles at them and made them feel generally unsafe, tarnishing what was otherwise a successful weekend.

''We had such a great time at the competition and we did some really lovely sightseeing in Dunedin, but coming back to that every night put a huge dampener on the whole experience.''

In response to a written list of questions, a University of Otago spokeswoman said information regarding ''this incident'' had been received and was under investigation, but she would not comment on details.