A Redditch man has decided to blow the whistle on his lifetime of football at the age of 76.

Tom Amer, of Crabbs Cross, started Hunt End Rangers under 11s two years ago and from then on the team has grown from strength to strength.

"Hunt End is going to be a big club," said Amer.

"I didn't really want to give it up but it's a lot of work.

"I'm going to get down and see them as often as I can," he added.

As a youngster Tom started his life on the pitch kicking a ball around with who he thought were just two kids who shared his passion.

They turned out to be brothers Bobby and Jack Charlton and so Tom's life in the beautiful game began.

As a young teenager Tom joined the ranks of Newcastle United after being hand picked, where he played with many budding stars including striker Alex Tait, who eventually went on to score for the Magpies in the 1957 FA Cup Final against Millwall.

After his time in Newcastle, Tom joined up with the merchant navy, where he also played football in Japan and Gibraltar, and after three years decided to stay in Weymouth where he worked for the local council.

He soon continued in football and joined Weymouth FC as the groundsman and it was at Weymouth where Tom got his first taste of junior football.

He took charge of the under 16 team and led them to victory against Weymouth Colts before moving to Redditch where he decided to start a club for Hunt End.

"Junior football is far more interesting for me," said Tom. "They are all good kids at Hunt End," he added.

But as Tom leaves, his nephew Shay Kerrins has just joined the Hunt End under 6 team thus beginning his football life.