TRIBUTES have been paid to veteran sports presenter Arthur Montford, who has died aged 85.

The football commentator, famous for anchoring STV's Scotsport for 32 years, passed away at home after bouts of ill health in recent years.

Mr Montford was also a lifelong supporter of Greenock Morton and later became a director at the club.

The club's former manager Allan McGraw led the tributes, describing his friend as both "a gentleman and a great friend".

He said: "Scottish football as lost a giant.

"He was a great man and a thorough gentleman. He was a great Morton supporter and helped me a lot as a player, but even more so as a manager. If I wanted or needed anything he would always do it for me."

In addition to presenting Scotsport, Mr Montford also covered other sports for the broadcaster until his retirement.

However, in retirement he remained a keen fan of the club and could be regularly spotted in the Cappielow stands.

Ex-Scotspot presenter Jim Delahunt tweeted: "For those yet to hear, Arthur Montford passed away today. Legend, gentleman and am proud to have walked in his Scotsport footsteps."

During his long stint on Scotsport, Mr Montford became famous for his trademark checkered pattern sports jackets and coining the phrase "What a stramash!" and "Disaster for Scotland!" Famously, during the 1978 Argentina World Cup, Mr Montford had his entire commentary broadcast live across the ITV network when a technical fault on the feed meant that English viewers were unable to get Hugh Johns commentary on Scotland v Peru. An STV spokesman said: "Arthur Montford made an immense contribution to sporting life in Scotland and was an STV legend, hosting over 2000 episodes of Scotsport over three decades. "We would like to offer our condolences to his family at this sad time."