FIREFIGHTERS were assaulted by a gang of youths throwing furniture and shining laser pens in their eyes.

The crew was called to a patch wasteland in Aberdare Close on Friday night after reports a large pile of furniture had been set alight.

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On arrival the four firefighters were verbally abused and filmed by the gang of around ten youths as they worked to put out the blaze.

After the fire was brought under control and extinguished the abuse escalated and furniture started to be hurled at them, striking one firefighter in the back.

Two crew members also had laser pens shone directly into their eyes including the driver of the fire engine.

The incident happened shortly after 10.10pm and damage was done to the ground as a result of the fire.

Watch manager David Shaw said: “Luckily none of the firefighters have suffered any lasting effects from the lasers but this could have had serious consequences to the sight of those involved.

“Firefighters should be able to go about doing their job without the fear of assault from members of the community they are serving.

“CCTV from the fire appliance and the local area has been passed to the police and the investigations are ongoing.

“The laser pens, if they are shone too close or directly into peoples eyes, can cause irreparable damage but luckily no lasting injuries were sustained by the crew members.

“I would urge anyone that views any footage of this incident on social media, or who is aware of the culprits, that they call crime stoppers.”

A police spokesman said: “This sort of behaviour is unacceptable and we are working hard to get to the bottom of what happened.”