Allowing people to buy pepper spray is better than having them carry oven cleaner, wasp spray or screwdrivers for self-protection, says a firearms dealer licensed to sell the eye irritant.

The use of OC spray during a nightclub brawl in Darwin early on Sunday has raised questions over its public sale in the crime-troubled Northern Territory.

Police arrested a 26-year-old woman who allegedly sprayed another female patron with a legally obtained canister during a fight at the Mayberry nightclub.

At the same venue a week earlier, a 16-year-old allegedly attacked two bouncers with an unlawfully obtained spray after being denied entry.

The two incidents follow the September start of a 12-month trial allowing the public sale of pepper spray at select NT firearms retailers.

Western Australia

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