Bury Broncos slumped to fourth place in division three after a fourth consecutive defeat.

Tries from Martin Wilcock, Neil Shackloth, Danny Kelly, Charlie Delaume and a double from Joe Galpin were not enough for Bury who are now clinging on to a play-off spot with just three games remaining.

Bury got off to a promising start as Wilcock powered onto a short ball and straight through three defenders for the opening try after just two minutes.

The Broncos’ advantage lasted until the 10th minute when the home side took the lead for the first time after an improvised kick for a slender 6-4 lead.

Another try straight from the restart extended the Reds’ lead to 12-4 but Bury hit back midway through the first half as Shackloth took matters into his own hands to touch down his own kick and bring the Broncos back to within two points.

Kelly got his name on the score sheet three minutes later as Bury regained the lead. This time Wilcock turned provider as his cutout pass found the winger who managed to dive in at the corner.

Galpin grabbed his first of the afternoon five minutes before the break with an acrobatic finish but Little Hulton hit back again on the stroke of half time.

After Bury failed to close the ball down on the last it was kept alive allowing a kick to be put in earning a repeat set. The home side made no mistake as the pressure told and they forced their way over to make it 18-16 to the Broncos at the break.

The Broncos came out stronger in the second half and Delaume wrestled his way over to give Bury an eight point advantage.

However the visitors failed to capitalise on their lead as two quickfire tries from Little Hulton gave them a four-point lead. This lead was extended to double figures 10 minutes from time when Little Hulton scooted over from Dummy Half on the last tackle.

Bury needed two converted tries to snatch the victory but could only manage one as Galpin powered through with eight minutes left to reduce the lead to four points.