At the end of last year, a 25-year-old Tauranga man stepped out of a taxi about midnight on The Strand with three mates - minutes later he had been punched in the jaw and was pulling two men off his friend.

The man, who told his story on the condition he was not named, had been going to a bar with his friends when they walked past two men having an argument.

"I said 'that's enough guys' to try to annul the situation, but I didn't really want to have any part of it, we just kept walking forward," he said.

A man several metres away started swearing and screaming at him.

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"He boosted straight over and started swinging at me and clipped me on the jaw.

"The next thing I know my friend was up against a car being beaten up by two different guys, not the guys who had been having an argument."

He and his friend had had a couple of drinks, but were not drunk, he said.

Read more: Tauranga's most dangerous areas, worst in NZ

They managed to make it to a nearby bar, dazed and hurt. His friend was hospitalised with a split lip, tooth and concussion.

The man has not been out in Tauranga CBD at night socially since the attack, which took place at the end of last year, saying he feared a similar incident would occur.

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"I don't enjoy the whole vibe.

"It's got a weird vibe, it doesn't feel safe even though there are a lot of police around."