SEVERAL people were arrested in a brawl in Pill, Newport, on New Year's eve. There were 28 arrests overall in the city, but police said it was still one of the most restrained New Year's eves in memory.

Sergeant Lee Myson, from Newport Central police station, said: "We were full to capacity in the cells with 28 arrests for public order offences but there were no woundings or anything nasty - it was just run of the mill things."

Inspector Chris Morgan, from Gwent Police headquarters in Croesyceiliog, Cwmbran, added: "It was unbelievably quiet - the quietest New Year's eve for a long, long time." Only 150 calls were received by police during the night, "a really small number for New Year's eve," he said.

And both the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport and Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny experienced a similar story.

Caroline Rowlands, a senior nurse at the Royal Gwent Hospital, said: "There were a couple of drunks from brawls but it was relatively quiet and uneventful in casualty - it was quite surprising and very civilised."

Elsewhere Blackwood police made six arrests, including four people taken into custody after a fight in High Street and Cwmbran police made four arrests after various incidents in the town.

The South Wales Fire Service also had a quiet time of it in Gwent. A spokeswoman said firefighters attended a couple of car fires but there were no house or flat fires.