Drunk brawl ends in ED

A drunken brawl of about 20 people broke out in Masterton in the early hours of Boxing Day, which left one man hospitalised with a broken nose and several others injured.

Children witnessed the incident, which police described as disappointing along with four other arrests.

Masterton police Acting Sergeant Shane Nolan said about 20 men and women were involved in the brawl.

One group in High St tried to merge with another party further up the road when the fight broke out.

He said a 36-year-old man was taken to hospital with a broken nose and other people were assaulted.

Police made four other arrests in incidents that involved alcohol to some degree.

Mr Nolan said it was "disappointing" to have some many alcohol-related incidents over Christmas.