John Hunt’s greatest love will always be his wife and children.

But returning to work just 60 days after the deaths of Carol, 61, Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, was a way for him to try to deal with the unimaginable grief of losing them so suddenly and painfully, a friend told MailOnline today.

The BBC horse racing commentator is believed to have moved away from the family home where Kyle Clifford stabbed Mr Hunt’s wife and fatally shot two of his three daughters with a crossbow. His third child Amy was not caught up in the attack.

Clifford, from Enfield, North London, has pleaded guilty to their three murders but denies one count of rape.

Mr Hunt, who was not in court on Wednesday, had been commentating on the big race at Ascot on Saturday and is expected to be working again for BBC Radio 5 Live this weekend.

Clifford, who had been dumped by Louise Hunt, now faces a life sentence after admitting the triple murder that wreaked ‘devastation on an unimaginable scale’ for Mr Hunt and his surviving child Amy in Bushey, Hertfordshire, on July 9 last year.  

Just 60 days later John had bravely returned to work at the Brighton races ‘on a quiet day’ in September.

A colleague told MailOnline today: ‘Perhaps returning to work so soon was his way of dealing with the trauma.

‘All of us in racing were heartbroken. He is a fine broadcaster but the thing that struck us was how devoted he was as a family man. He talked of them all a great deal’.

Another friend said that John has clearly found some comfort in working again – but once a fixture in the press room and keen to chat about his family and beloved West Ham, he now keeps himself more to himself.

‘I saw him walking across the course alone recently. I fully understand why’, a colleague said.

John Hunt is pictured with his wife Carol, who was killed alongside two of their two daughters

Hannah Hunt was killed alongside her mother and sister in the crossbow attack in Bushey

Louise Hunt (pictured), sister of Hannah Hunt and daughter of Carol and John Hunt, was killed

Mr Hunt shared a birthday message for his surviving daughter last week. He praised Amy’s beauty and strength after a harrowing year where their family was taken from them.

‘It’s what a proud father would say. And that’s John’, the friend said.

‘John is the very best of men. The esteem in which he is held by his colleagues could not be higher’, he went on.

Mr Hunt was at Ascot on Saturday working for BBC 5Live, calling the Clarence House Chase won by Jonbon.

‘John is the bravest man I know. And an incredible talent, with no ego. When I saw him he would always ask about my children and my family’, the friend said.

‘And it was the same with his girls – they were everything to him. He always talked about them.

‘He has huge compassion. And always lived for his family. He was so proud.

‘They were a family surrounded by good people – but it shows how one bad seed can get in and ruin everything’.

Since the murders race courses and officials all over the country have provided a crutch for him and tried to make him comfortable in any way they can.

Colleagues described hearing the news that his wife and children had died last summer.

‘There was a minute’s silence for his family at Newmarket and it was the most sombre and grave atmosphere because of the love for him. The jockeys were also bereft. They all knew him and trusted him’, one said.

‘He returned on one quiet day in September at Brighton and he chose that he because he knew he had to get back to work and stay at home with his thoughts. He came in into a quiet meeting and did his work.

‘John has no ego. When you are listening to John call a race it feels like a friend is talking to you.

‘He creates drama and makes it easy to understand. He’s the master of his craft.

‘He’s a massive West Ham fan and loves talking football but he’s got a job to do and wants to call a race with clarity. That is his focus’.

Kyle Clifford pleaded guilty to killing Carol, Hannah and Louise. But he denied one count of rape

After the brutal killings the grieving widower urged people to ‘make the most of every day’ as his friend and fellow commentator Matt Chapman opened up about Mr Hunt having the ‘family unit he absolutely adored’ ripped apart. 

Through the searing emotional pain, the loving father’s thoughts turned to Amy and his ‘biggest desire’ to make her life ‘a little less stressful’. 

A fundraiser set up for the Hunt family raised more than £120,000 that Mr Chapman, a colleague on Sky Sports Racing, said is ‘not going to take their grief away – it’s not going to take the pain away or change anything – but it might help them have an easier life’. 

Mr Hunt released a short statement with Amy after the tragedy saying: ‘The devastation that we are experiencing cannot be put into words.’

In a further statement read by Mr Chapman, Mr Hunt said: ‘Notwithstanding the horrid evil that’s swept through our lives, wreaking devastation on an unimaginable scale, the counter to that has been the breathtaking messages of support, some of which are still to be read.’

He added: ‘Amy, my eldest daughter, has been magnificently inspirational with her control and support for me, which I am trying, trying so hard, to replicate.

‘Every message has felt so important, the same as a reassuring hug. We know people are worried about us. We will get through this.’

Mr Hunt had stepped down shortly after the tragedy, missing the Paris Olympics where he was due to commentate on the swimming events for the BBC.

He emotionally told of the anguish and torment he and his surviving daughter were going through since ‘his girls’ were murdered, and how his ‘knees buckled’ as he looked out from the press box. 

‘It’s been 60 days since my girls, Carol, Hannah and Louise were killed and whilst Amy and I still feel so wounded and vulnerable, returning to work at Brighton felt achievable and realistic,’ he said.

‘Carol and I had our last weekend away together in Brighton at the end of May and looking out from the press box, out to sea, my knees buckled recalling us on the wild rapids ride on the pier just over three months ago.

‘Soaked to the skin and laughing like teenagers.

‘But I know the girls are with me, at all times and would have been gently encouraging me to take a breath or two, and stride on.’

After the attack, a picture emerged of Clifford in army gear, holding a gun with his face covered in camouflage paint

He went on to say how the ‘warmth from everyone at the track was so striking with hugs and kindness washing over me all day’.

‘My thanks to everyone who has contacted me, to Racetech who made things so straightforward, and all racegoers who said hello,’ he added. 

‘Amy and I are determined to take small steps forward whenever we feel able. To that end, today was a good day and I’m grateful for it.’

A court heard how Clifford tied 25-year-old former partner Louise’s arms and ankles with duct tape and shot her through the chest with a crossbow bolt at the family home. 

Carol sustained significant stab wounds to her knee, hands, back and torso following the attack by Clifford with a 10in butcher’s knife.

Hannah was found in the main doorway of the house with a crossbow bolt to the chest and was still alive when police arrived at the property at around 7.10pm on July 9.

Police had been called by Hannah, who told officers she feared she was going to die as she had been shot and her sister and mother had also been attacked.

Clifford, who served in the military from 2019 for around three years, became the subject of a manhunt for a number of hours before he was found injured in Lavender Hill Cemetery in Enfield, north London, after shooting himself in the chest with the crossbow.

Tearful members of the congregation attend a morning service and vigil at St James’s church in Bushey, following the deaths of Carol, Hannah, and Louise

Appearing via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday, Clifford pleaded guilty to three counts of murder, one of false imprisonment against Louise, and two counts of possession of offensive weapons – the crossbow and the knife.

He pleaded not guilty to a charge of raping Louise.

Following the attacks, the Home Office said Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was urgently considering whether tougher crossbow laws were needed.

In the King’s Speech, which took place just days after the killings, there was no proposal to take action on crossbows.

It is understood that the review is ongoing and no decisions have yet been made.

The previous government looked at bringing in firearms licensing-style rules in the wake of an attempt to kill the late Queen with a crossbow.

There is currently no registration system for owning a crossbow, no requirement for a licence and they appear to be readily available to buy online.

But it is illegal for anyone under 18 to buy or own one, with anyone carrying a crossbow in public without a reasonable excuse facing up to four years behind bars.

Clifford, of Rendlesham Road, Enfield, north London, will face a trial for the charge of rape at the same court later this year.