Legendary commentator Bob Hunt is to retire after a career spanning five decades.

The BBC commentator has become a staple fixture at Forest Green Rovers and Gloucestershire County Cricket Club since he began reporting from their grounds in the early 80s.

Rovers chairman Dale Vince said Bob was “part of the club” and Gloucestershire Cricket’s chief executive Will Brown said supporters respected him “hugely”.

During his 32 years behind the mic, Bob saw Gloucestershire’s historic 2015 Royal London Cup win over Surrey at Lord’s and their promotion from Division Two to Division One of the Championship in 2019.

But it was his commentary of Rovers promotion-earning win in 2017 that abounded around the world and even made it on to BBC One’s Have I Got News For You, when he roared: “Let me tell you this – Cheltenham, Swindon, Newport – you are going to eat hummus next season, because Forest Green Rovers are in the Football League!”

Speaking on the eve of his retirement, the BBC Radio Gloucestershire and BBC Radio Bristol commentator, said: “It’s been tremendous fun – every time I’ve commentated I’ve aimed to inject some humour in to it.

“My favourite moments have been Gloucestershire winning the Royal London Cup at Lord’s in 2015 and Forest Green’s promotion at Wembley in 2017.”

Bob will be remembered for:

• His unique style that combined humour and an ability to convey the excitement of the game, which earned him the title “ballistic Bob”.

• His £3 wager on Forest Green to 5-1 away at Alfreton at odds of 125-1 in 2011 – only to have it snatched out of his hands when Rovers put away a sixth in the 96th minute.

• His reporting on other sports including rugby union, horse racing, synchronised swimming and the 400th anniversary of the ancient Cotswold Olimpicks, where memorably he described a contestant in the sack race as “bounding like a demented kangaroo in lane five”.

• Reporting with his son Billy Hunt from the New Lawn.

Bob was a fixture at FGR when I got there ten years ago, god knows how long he’s been a part of the club.  My best memory is our promotion final at Wembley when he minted his now legendary quote - about eating hummus, a classic.

Tim Pemberton, managing editor at BBC Radio Gloucestershire said: “Bob has been a fantastic presence on the airwaves of BBC Radio Gloucestershire. He made the sports he covered interesting and fun even to non-sports fans. He rightly has a special place in the hearts of the Forest Green Rovers fans and will be forever immortalised by his commentary describing their rise to the football league. He deserves all the plaudits coming his way for a truly wonderful career.”