Thirty-four people were arrested on New Year's Eve in Palmerston North. Excessive drinking and fighting were a common issue at celebrations in The Square.

Palmerston North's trouble-makers prompted more arrests on New Year's Eve than in the capital.

With less than half the population of Wellington, Palmerston North had almost twice the amount of arrests over the New Year's holiday period.

There were 34 arrests made in Palmerston North between 5pm Saturday and 7am Sunday, compared to 18 in Wellington.

Twelve of the arrests in Palmerston North were for intoxication, excessive breath alcohol and disorder related offences, whereas only eight people were arrested for similar offences in Wellington, a police spokeswoman said.

Event security at New Year's Eve in The Square said there were a few fights during the night and people drinking alcohol in the liquor ban area.

A fight between teenage girls broke out about 9pm, but it was nothing unusual at the yearly event, the security guard said.

Most of the trouble happened in the vacant half of The Square, behind the crowd, he said.

Despite the high number of alcohol-related arrests, bar owners and liquor stores had minimal issues.

Big Barrel employee Hari Barsad​ said a trolley had been stolen from the store but there were no other incidents.

The trolley thieves were caught on camera and were planning to return it, Barsad said

Low alcohol beers were the beverage of choice, beating out their higher percentage counterparts and spirits.

"Because of the hot weather, people tried low alcohol drinks. We sold out of DB Citrus, a 2.5 per cent drink," Barsad said.

Barrel 'n' Crate owner Cameron McDonald said the bar did not have any problems on New Year's Eve, but people were trying to enter while intoxicated.

It was often because they had been binge drinking at home, he said.

"The culture of pre-loading in Palmy is crazy. We need to encourage people to come out early where they are in a safe, monitored environment."

But pre-made mixers were "dirt cheap" at supermarkets, and it was hard for bars to compete, so people had drinks at home and came to town already intoxicated, he said.

"This is bad for everyone. Bars lose money and the police have to deal with issues all night."

A few people were turned away on Saturday but the bar was fortunate to have an early crowd of people watching the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the afternoon who had not pre-loaded, McDonald said.

Rosie O'Grady's manager Lenaia Tucker said it was a quiet night for the pub.

The pub closed just after midnight, once everyone had watched the fireworks, she said.



