A much-loved horse racing commentator has made his return to work after his wife and two of his daughters were killed in a crossbow attack.

John Hunt was greeted with hugs from fellow commentators when he walked into the press room at Brighton Racecourse today.

It was the first time the highly respected commentator had been at work since his wife Carol Hunt, 61, and their daughters, Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, were found fatally injured at their house in Ashlyn Close, Bushey, Hertfordshire, on July 9.

Kyle Clifford, 26, was arrested on suspicion of three counts of murder after he was found with injuries in the Hilly Fields area of Enfield, north London, on July 11.

Mr Hunt was back commentating for Sky's At The Races for today’s flat meeting at the racecourse.

Horse racing reporter Will Lefebve said he and fellow reporters were surprised by Mr Hunt’s appearance but said they were glad to see him back.

Read more: John Hunt says messages of support ‘like a hug’ following family crossbow deaths

“The racing world has really embraced his return,” said Mr Lefebve.

“He’s a lovely guy.

“Five of us one by one gave him a hug.

“It was a nice surprise.

“Everyone was so horrified with what had happened and it was great to see him back.”

In a statement following the attack, Mr Hunt and his third daughter Amy said: “The devastation that we are experiencing cannot be put into words.

“We would like to thank people for their kind messages and for the support we have received in recent days. These have provided great comfort to us for which we are very grateful.

“As you can imagine, this is an extremely difficult time for us and we need time and space to come to terms with what has happened and start the grieving process.”

A GoFundMe page set up to support Mr Hunt and Amy by ITV commentator Matt Chapman passed its target of £100,000, which Mr Chapman said “shows from the horror of this event, we have seen the other side of human nature – it just reminds us there’s goodness out there in the world”.