MT MAUNGANUI - Police in riot gear were pelted with bottles as they tried to disperse about 300 young people at a party in Mt Maunganui.
The incident, on Saturday night, was the second time in a month that police had been called to shut down a rowdy party in Valley Rd.
One police officer suffered a minor leg injury and a dog-handler injured a hand when struck by a bottle.
Five people were arrested after refusing to leave the area.
In Rotorua, 23 teenagers were arrested on Friday night after a drinking spree in Kuirau Park that police say could easily have ended in tragedy.
The youths, aged between 11 and 17, were arrested about 10.30 pm after telephone calls to police from neighbouring residents concerned about loud screams coming from the bubbling hotpools area, said Senior Sergeant Dave Donaldson.
The screams were the result of "cheap rum and skylarking" - a combination that had proved fatal in the past, he said.
A number of bodies had been removed from the park's boiling pools over the years after drinkers had failed to negotiate a safe route home in the dark.
Senior Sergeant Donaldson said the youths, who were all found within a fenced-off security area of the park, were taken to the police station for their own safety.
- NZPA
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