1 Nov 2015

Police arrest student after couch-burning

6:09 pm on 1 November 2015

One student has been arrested and the police have spoken to several others after a spate of couch fires in Dunedin.

A party on Castle Street, Dunedin, about 8am on Sunday 1 November 2015.

A party on Castle Street, Dunedin, about 8am on Sunday. Photo: Twitter / @doryrempsey

Officers were called to six separate parties between 6am and 1pm today in which couches were set alight.

Senior Sergeant Craig Brown said there were at least 60 people at one of the parties.

"We arrested one male for disorderly behaviour - that was just before 12 o'clock, in Castle Street. He was just behaving stupidly."

Mr Brown said a number of other students had been spoken to about their behaviour.

The Fire Service said up to 12 firefighters attended the incidents.

"[It] puts pressure on the Fire Service to be able to respond to these fires, especially if we're having multiple fires happening at the same time," Fire Service spokesperson Tim Reynolds said.

Several arrests in Auckland

The police in Auckland, meanwhile, have said several arrests after the game in Auckland.

Bars around the city were packed to capacity, some having stayed open through the night, and Senior Sergeant Scott Leonard said there were some incidents of assault and drunken disorder as people flowed back out into the streets.

"There's been some arrests for intoxication and disorder... All in all, a busy night with a couple of groups in disorder as people are leaving the city after the game."

Mr Leonard said it was too early to tell just how many of the arrests were related to the World Cup.

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