BURY men's second team secured promotion from Division Six North South of the North West Men's Hockey League with a game to spare following Saturday's 1-0 win at Leigh.

Defeat could have opened the door for third-placed City of Manchester 4s to pip them to the second promotion spot, behind title winners St Helens, as the two sides face off in Bury's final match of the campaign this weekend.

But a second-half strike from Sam Plant proved enough to see off Leigh and kick off the celebrations early.

The men's first team have two matches remaining in their Division Three North campaign and are set fair for a comfortable finish in mid-table.

They are sixth after chalking up a 10th win of the season at bottom side Leyland and Chorley on Saturday, winning 4-1.

Bury eased into a 2-0 lead with only 10 minutes on the clock after the forward pairing of Joe Perkins and Jack Marshall-Grint both found the net.

Perkins was first on the scoresheet, finishing from close range, before Marshall-Grint found the bottom corner following some excellent build-up play down the right wing.

Leyland gave themselves hope before half time after converting a well-worked short corner, but the second half saw Bury take full control as they piled on the pressure.

Further strikes from Marshall-Grint and a reverse stick effort from Perkins secured the points.

The ladies' first team showed not signs of taking their foot off the pedal, despite already securing the Division Two title in the Greater Manchester Women's hockey Association.

They romped to a 5-1 win at Bolton at the weekend.

Charlotte Bates’ close-range brace gave the visitors control in the first half, before Jennifer Matthews’ side found the net three more times in the second half.

Strikes from Kate Gledhill, Jo Miller and Joy Kennedy rounded off another successful day for the first team as they aim to finish the season undefeated in the league.

The ladies second team, meanwhile, took a huge step towards Division Two after earning a fantastic 3-2 win at third-placed Salford University.

Goals from Helen Beard and Simone Rothwell’s first of the season were followed by a vital winner from youngster Kate Howard from a short corner. The win means that the ladies have now beaten both second and third-placed teams in the last two league games.

With just two games remaining any two of six teams could still be relegated.

Bury are one place and two points above the drop zone and face bottom side Manchester Moss Park on Saturday.