Wellington  - Renowned New Zealand opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is credited with keeping a busy city square free of teenage vandals, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

Teens do not linger in the centre of Waitakere City because they find the recordings of Dame Kiri's arias and other classics beamed over loudspeakers "so bloody hideous," mayor Bob Harvey told the New Zealand Herald.

He said the effect of classical music on teenagers was like older people "being locked up in a room with hip hop - it would be enough to drive you crazy."

The South Island city of Christchurch is reported to be considering broadcasting middle-of-the-road singer Barry Manilow to deter young people from congregating in a public square, intimidating passers-by and committing acts of vandalism. dpa