Elvis Hammond leaves Cheltenham Town by mutual consent

Hammond joined Cheltenham on a free transfer in November

Cheltenham Town striker Elvis Hammond has left the club by mutual consent.

The 29-year-old joined the Robins in November 2008 from Leicester City and scored 10 goals in 50 appearances.

Hammond started his career at Fulham and had loan spells at Bristol Rovers and Norwich City before joining the Foxes in 2005.

Cheltenham manager Mark Yates told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: "He's travelling down to London a lot and he's got a lot of things happening outside football."

He added: "They are affecting his football and we are not getting the best out of him.

"If it means we can re-invest the money it's got to be the right thing to do."

League rules state teams can only sign eight loan player and field five in any one match and although Yates already has five loanees in the squad, he refused to rule out more signings in an attempt to improve results.

"We've missed out on a few players I would have really liked," said Yates.

"Even if we have to take the loans up even further we need fresh faces. It's important that we add quality and competition in certain areas."

Cheltenham lost 1-0 at home to Chesterfield on Saturday, and are now only four points above the relegation zone in League 2.