Smashed bottles litter street after teenage party

An 18th birthday party in New Plymouth became an uncontrolled mess and had to be broken up by police after as many as 150 uninvited guests arrived.

Officers were called by residents of Fitzroy Rd about 10.45pm on Saturday after they became concerned by the behaviour of the large crowd of teenagers at the party.

‘‘Bottles were getting smashed and the party was getting out of hand,’’ Sergeant Ross Wright said.

The gathering had begun as a low key event but when between 100 and 150 uninvited teenagers arrived things got a bit out of control, Wright said.

‘‘With most of these kids on social media, they come from the hills to attend.

‘‘With that comes a real issue for the immediate neighbourhood with the noise level, smashed bottles on the road, often accompanied by damage to the host’s property and potentially the neighbours’.’’

He said the majority of guests were aged between 15 and 19.

‘‘Many of their parents would have no idea that their child was heading to a party and or drinking alcohol, or where the alcohol supplied came from.

‘‘In this case the partygoers were not a bad bunch but there was a lot of broken bottles strewn about.’’

Wright said four patrol cars went to the party and police were kept busy at the scene for about an hour.

They had restored the peace by 11.48pm.

With the arrival of daylight savings and warmer weather it appeared party season had begun and Wright encouraged anyone thinking about hosting a party involving teenagers and alcohol to be well-organised and know what was required.

‘‘We recommend they do their research into their obligations and have a list of invited guests if taking the plunge to, in effect, ruin their neighbours’ peace.

‘‘We recommend they have sufficient adult control in place to deny entry.’’