He and his colleagues from Green Watch then came under a hail of missiles, including bricks and bottles.

Mr Braidley, 37, suffered a broken nose and a black eye in the incident.

Benjamin Ray, of Berners Road, Arbourthorne, has been jailed for six months for assaulting the firefighter, by magistrates in Sheffield.

He had pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm at an earlier hearing.

Ray was also given a further three-month sentence for breaching a previous community punishment order and was served with an anti-social behaviour order.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service last night issued a statement which said: "It is a firefighter's role to protect the public and ensure the safety of our community.

"This role is put at risk when firefighters are subjected to physical and verbal abuse and provocation.