The mother of a 15-year-old arrested following a brawl at Christchurch’s bus exchange has defended her son.

Three people were arrested following a large brawl outside on Lichfield Street at 9:35 PM on Friday.

A witness said he saw people fighting both inside and outside the bus exchange and noted a significant amount of broken glass at the scene.

A young man was seen resisting arrest. A team policing van was called to break up the fight, and a police spokeswoman confirmed that no one was seriously injured.

A mother of one of the youths involved in the brawl and arrested, contacted chrislynchmedia.com.  “I’ve read the comments of people that have commented, a lot of these comments are nasty and judgmental, and I understand that it is social media and people have the right to their opinion.

“However, I feel like the comments about crappy parents and no discipline definitely struck a chord with me.”

The mother defended her son, saying, “My son is not a bad kid, he was sticking up for someone else, and it backfired, and a brawl erupted.

“There was also a knife pulled on him. Now don’t get me wrong, he’s not innocent. He has a bit of a smart mouth, especially if someone is upsetting or offending his mates.”

She expressed frustration with the public’s perception. “I guess the reason I’m reaching out to you is that I feel it’s important for people to know that not all kids that get in trouble are lost causes.

“I feel like if there were more avenues available to help parents with kids that are starting to get into trouble, it might help.

“I’m a good mum and have raised my son and his older brother on my own. There are consequences for his actions, I’m making sure of that, and Christchurch police were great at putting the fear of God into him. At least, I’m hoping that something positive comes from this.”

“Not sure really what I’m wanting for messaging you, perhaps only wanting to be heard,” she said.

The police investigation into the incident was ongoing.