Manchester Evening News reporter Neal Snowdon successfully challenged a court reporting restriction to name a 15-year-old boy who punched a fire engine driver in the face.

Neal argued that it was in the public interest that Daniel Wild be identified for the attack which happened while firefighters were trying to put out a blazing car near his home in Gainsborough Drive, Kirkholt, Rochdale.

He said: “At first the court clerk didn’t even want me in court because she was newly-qualified and ignorant of the law.

“So that was round one – they went to consider the law and I was allowed in.

“During the dinner break I said to the clerk that we had a photographer outside hoping to get a snatch of the lad and that we wanted the restrictions on naming him lifted.

“The magistrates went out and considered my argument and the boy’s solicitor’s argument and it came out in our favour – they said it was in the public interest for him to be named.”

Freelance photographer Sean Wilton was waiting outside the court, hoping to snap Wild for the Evening News – whose Protect Our Heroes campaign calls for firefighters and other 999 workers to have the same protection as police officers.

Neal said: “The lad knew we were after a picture of him but Sean pulled all the tricks out of the bag to get the snatch.

”That gave us a lot more scope – we were very happy and the fire brigade were very happy. Hopefully it’ll make other people think twice about committing these acts.”