A PRIMARY school teaching assistant was sacked after calling a boy a girl's name in class.

       John Brelsford split pupils in his PE lesson by gender to play a game - but one youngster burst into tears when he "humiliated" him in front of his classmates.

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       John Brelsford was sacked for calling a boy a girl's name during a PE lesson Credit: Getty

       There weren't enough female students to create equal teams, so some of the boys were told to switch sides, an employment tribunal heard.

       Mr Brelsford then started calling the boys who were playing on the girls' side female names, leaving one "vulnerable" pupil, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) "crying", the hearing was told.

       After he got upset, the TA called him a "baby" in front of his friends.

       Mr Brelsford was fired after the incident as he had already received a formal warning following complaints about his behaviour from parents and staff.

       The tribunal heard he had previously called pupils "stupid" for not knowing their times tables, and "pathetic" for not receiving double figures in their test scores.

       He also allegedly "screamed" and "shouted" at several children, and one claimed he hurt their hand by squeezing it too hard.

       Mr Brelsford is also said to have googled "Gingerphobia" in front of his class which resulted in a child with red hair being teased by other kids.

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       Mr Brelsford claimed he was sacked due to a "vendetta" against him, but the tribunal threw out his claim of unfair dismissal ruling he could have been fired "much sooner than he was".

       Leeds employment Judge Chris McAvoy-Newns said: "Although none of the incidents giving rise to the disciplinary warnings were precisely the same, they all followed the same theme and concerned [Mr Brelsford's] conduct with children which the [school] considered to be inappropriate."

       He had worked at St Wilfrid’s Primary School, a Catholic voluntary aided academy in Sheffield.