A man has been arrested for allegedly defacing a statue in the centre of Palmerston North, in what appears to be a protest over disputed land.

Just after 3.30pm on Tuesday, the man sprayed red paint over the plaques of the Rangitāne chief Te Peeti Te Awe Awe in the south-east corner of The Square, near a busy intersection.

He wrote the words "Kawana land stolen" on the ground on either side of the monument.

Police received three calls between 3.40pm and 4pm about the damage to the statue.

The man was still on the scene when police arrived about 4pm.