A confronting brawl stopped traffic in the city this afternoon, with punches laid, bottles thrown and a man armed with a tyre lever looking for trouble.

According to witnesses, the fight happened just after 4pm this afternoon on the corner of Barrack and Murray Streets.

It appears what began as a few terse words between a couple of pedestrians and some men in a white ute quickly spiralled out of control.

Some of the video is grainy, but witnesses say a female pedestrian kicks the side of the ute, sparking an angry reaction from those inside who square up for a fight.

As the men begin to drive away, a bottle is thrown.

That car goes off to park, then the men return — one is armed with a wheel brace and another with a baseball bat.

Witnesses say after hearing the sound of approaching police sirens, the armed men ran off.

After a short foot chase one of the men was arrested and police have spent the past hour or so searching that Hilux.