A FIRE chief has hit out at a 'feral underclass' after one of his men was shot at as they put out a huge blaze.

Watch Commander Reg Haye, from Chadderton station in Oldham, has slammed 'certain sections of society' after the sickening attack.

His crew was one of four called to a raging inferno at a scrap yard in the town.

They had put out 60 burning cars which had been deliberately torched when one of his officers was targeted by a youth clutching an air rifle.

The officer managed to dive to safety - with the pellet whizzing past him and smashing into a car.

Reg, 42, says the latest attack, which happened on Tuesday  at about 6.30pm, is just one of many and believes something needs to be done.

He explained: "This kind of thing is happening all over Greater Manchester. About 18 months ago I was travelling as a passenger in the engine and was hit by a brick thrown through the window.

Feral underclass 

"There's a feral underclass out there and it's worse than it has ever been. They get some kind of masochistic pleasure from attacking us. We don't need it - our jobs are difficult enough to do as it is."

The firefighter was left shaken but unhurt by the attack. Steve Wilkes, manager at Broadbent Motors, in Watersheddings, says it is the second time they have been targeted in two months.

He slammed those responsible. "Last time it caused £20,000 of damage and this time looks like the same. It doesn't surprise me that one has tried to shoot a fireman. They don't give a monkey's.

"This is people's livelihoods that are being put at risk.

"There was a ton of them there and they were running close to the fire and messing about."

He added that one of the fire fighters confronted some of the youths only to be met with ignorance.

"He collared some of them and they just said 'the council will pay for it, they pay for us,'" he said.

"You wonder what they are being taught at home. Why would you do it?"

Deputy County Fire Officer Kieran Nolan also joined the criticism.

He said "Any attack on firefighters or emergency-service workers is totally unacceptable. We are here to help the public when they need us; an attack which hampers or prevents us reaching those in need places them in even more danger.

"Fortunately in this instance the firefighter concerned was unhurt, but the outcome could have been much more severe with potentially life changing consequences"