A “living legend” of regional journalism is set to retire after more than half a century in the industry.

Bob Warman has announced he will present his final ITV Central bulletin in July after reading the news in the West Midlands since 1978.

Bob, pictured, began his career on hometown newspaper the Walsall Observer, where the editor gave him three weeks to see “whether we like you and you like us”.

He also worked for the Birmingham Post & Mail before moving into broadcasting as a reporter for ATV, part of the ITV network.

Bob moved to Yorkshire Television in 1976, when he was chosen to front the regional programme for ITV News Calendar with the late Richard Whiteley.

He returned to ATV in two years later and has covered the Midlands for ITV ever since.

Bob, who will present his last programme on Monday 4 July, told ITV News: “By any measure it’s been a long stint in front of the camera and I will miss my colleagues and the hundreds of thousands of viewers who’ve remained loyal to ITV News over the years.

“It’s difficult to know when to call it a day, especially when I do a job I love with colleagues who are special to me. But time is running [out] and I have many interests which I want to pursue.”

Away from his work, Bob is the president of the Birmingham Press Club and a life vice president of the Journalists’ Charity.

Sameena Ali-Khan, his co-presenter for the past 13 years, said: “People always talk about Bob being a timeline to their life, and when you’ve done almost 50 years of giving people the news in the Midlands, you can see why.

“To me, Bob has been a good friend, someone to have a laugh with and someone to learn from.

“It’s been a privilege to work alongside him for the past 13 years because he really is a ‘Living Legend’ and like many of our viewers, we’ll miss him hugely.”