THIRTY police officers descended on Wallingford town centre after more than 50 youths started a drunken fight.

A member of the public raised the alarm at 10.36pm last Friday after seeing 30 people fighting in High Street.

But by the time police officers arrived, there were about 50 youths fighting in High Street and the market square.

Victoria Bartlett, a spokesman for Thames Valley Police, said that more than 30 officers were called, including those manning the force helicopter. There were also dog handlers and roads policing officers involved.

Trouble started after young people started drinking in the Riverside Park.

They crossed Wallingford Bridge and tried to get into both the Town Arms and the Boathouse pubs but were refused.

Fighting started when they were confronted by another group of youths.

Police Community Support Officers tried to intervene but had to call for reinforcements.

More than 30 officers were deployed, including dog handlers and the police helicopter.

They arrested 18 youths - 15 males and three females. One, a 17-year-old boy, has been charged with assault and resisting arrest and will appear at Didcot Youth Court on September 29.

A 39-year-old woman was cautioned for assault and a 15-year-old boy was released on police bail pending further inquiries.

Police issued fixed penalty tickets to 15 others for public order offences.

Teenagers in the town were reluctant to talk about the incidents.

One 17-year-old, who would give his name only as Jason, said: "It got out of hand and the police were pretty rough.

"Normally there's just high spirits at the weekends, a lot of noise and name-calling but nothing like what happened on Friday."

Sgt Frazer Weller, in charge at Wallingford police Station, said: "We will now be looking at finding the root causes of these problems and dealing with them."

On claims that the police had been heavy-handed, Sgt Weller said: "We have to be firm in this sort of situation and act quickly to stop disorder escalating.

"This was a serious situation and I have no information that officers did anything other than act quickly and responsibly. They used reasonable and justifiable force to bring the incident to an end without serious injury or damage to property."

Meanwhile, Julian Walley, a local estate agent, said the area was flooded with police.

He said: "I have never seen anything like it. I didn't actually see any of the fighting but I did see a woman lying on the ground. Wallingford is usually a lovely quiet market town. This is just not what you expect."