Members of the Mongrel Mob and Black Power gangs slugged it out in a suburban street in Tauranga yesterday afternoon.
Armed with knives, spades and batons, about 15 men brawled as their Merivale neighbours looked on.
A police patrol called to the scene backed off and called for reinforcements. Once extra staff arrived, the fight was soon stopped.
Six men will appear in the Tauranga District Court tomorrow on a variety of charges.
In other violent incidents in the city at the weekend, a 16-year-old girl working at a downtown fruit market on Saturday morning was punched in the face. The same man then went up to a 60-year-old customer and punched her to the ground.
Neither women knew the attacker and both suffered cuts and swelling.
A 44-year-old unemployed local man will be in court today on two assault charges. Also arrested for two assaults was a 25-year-old Tauranga man. Police said he allegedly approached two young people outside a mid-city bar and, "completely unprovoked", punched both.
Rival gangs brawl in Tauranga
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