BURY secured their first win of the Lancashire (North) season at the 15th time of asking with a 17-8 victory at Garstang.

Recent performances had pointed to an upturn in fortunes, and it was Bury who struck first, thanks to strong work from the pack.

The forwards secured the ball out on the left, before quick hands set winger Alex English free to open the scoring.

This set the tone for an excellent forwards display, dominating almost at will and providing opportunities for the backline to capitalise, although, in awful conditions, this was by no means easy.

Bury extended their lead before half time, with more good work from the backs opening up a gap through which Luke Cleary could run and score without further invitation.

After going into the break 10-0 up, Bury continued their dominance after the restart, with Mark Blaine and Ollie Freschini applying suffocating pressure to the Garstang pack.

A series of scrums and penalties eventually gained their rewards for the Rams, as Ed Watkins collected a superb pass from scrum half Tom Smith to open up a 17-point lead.

Garstang, who never allowed the game to get away from them, picked up a deserved consolation try and penalty in the closing moments, when Bury finally relented to the home side.

But it was Bury who closed out the game to seal a much-needed win, which kept them second-bottom.

They travel to fourth-placed Tarleton next week aiming to show they have turned the corner this season.