Mr Jones, 39, was one of 10 men who competed against fire and rescue staff from across the world in a dragon boat race on Friday.

The race was part of this year’s World Firefighters Games which is being hosted by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service in Liverpool.

The team, which beat 14 others in the race to pick up sixth place, were knocked out in the semi-finals against France and Budapest.

Mr Jones, who will leave the fire service’s urban search and rescue department at Cleckheaton to work in South Elmsall later this month, said: “We were a bit disappointed but still pleased with the result. There were some professional teams there that were very competitive.

“No-one on our team had done any dragon boat racing before. We had practiced for about six hours.

“It was harder than I expected it to be. We had to get through four races to get to the semi-finals. I was absolutely shattered but really enjoyed it.

“The first British team to be placed was Devon and Cornwall, who came fourth, and they have been training for eight years.”