Woman thrown off bridge to 'teach her a lesson'

A woman who was allegedly thrown off the Collingwood St Bridge in central Nelson to be "taught a lesson" plummeted about six metres to the water below.

The incident occurred on Sunday after the woman and a 17-year-old Nelson youth she knew had a "bit of a dispute" as they were walking along the road, Detective Sergeant Mark Kaveney, of Nelson police, said.

The woman narrowly missed rocks and, although she was "given a fright", was unharmed. Mr Kaveney said the youth said he wanted to "teach her a lesson" and knew the water was deep because he had swum there before.

Before the man allegedly threw her over, he had yelled to some people watching nearby to "watch this".

At one point, the woman feared she would drown because her jeans were pulling her under, Mr Kaveney said. "It was a stupid thing to do and could have had some serious consequences," he said.

Yesterday, a 17-year-old Nelson youth was charged with assaulting a female, Senior Constable Phil Wylie of Nelson police said.

The complaint was laid two days ago. The youth turned himself in at the police station under a separate warrant that was out for his arrest after he failed to appear in court on another charge.