A busy Auckland city street is slathered in a heavy coating of foam.



City worker Steph Bloy spotted the foam on Lorne St in the central business district at 8.30am, saying there was a pink substance amongst the foam.



The bubbles had coated Khartoum Pl, which opens off Lorne St, beside the Auckland Art Gallery.



Auckland Council had been alerted to the mess but Bloy said no officials had arrived when she was there, but a "slippery" sign had been erected.



"People were crowding around taking photos," Bloy said. "It looks like it's coming from the fountain but I don't know."



Pictures on Twitter suggest the foam had been there overnight.

Auckland Council's manager of local parks Mark Miller said the memorial feature, a fountain, "does get washing detergent poured into it from time to time. This seems to happen every 2-3 months approximately".

The bubbles were being looked into urgently and the system would likely be drained, washed and refilled with water which could take between four and six hours, he said.