IT is a measure of how good Bury are at the moment that it is no real surprise when they hit their in-form opponents for five while also equalling 40-year-old club records.

No praise is high enough for a group of players that are capable of tearing apart whatever team is put in front of them.

A brace of strikes for lethal forwards Nicky Ajose and Ryan Lowe, on the back of Andy Haworth’s opener, laid the foundations for a sixth successive victory on the road on Tuesday night – emulating the record set by the promotion-winning side of 1960-61.

Should they maintain such imperious form, it would be inconceivable that Alan Knill’s side will not end the season in the top three. And if they do it – they will do it in style.

“This team is a pleasure to play in,” said defender Phil Picken. “We know we are capable of playing like that. We do it every day in training and we have shown it a few times this season – but not to this extent.

“We came into our own at Lincoln and played some fantastic football.

“The plan was to carry over the momentum from Burton and, even when we were 3-0 up, we still took the game to them. The attacking players will rightly take a lot of the credit but the defenders are really pleased with the clean sheet too.”

The most optimistic of scriptwriters would struggle to predict the barnstorming start that saw Bury go 3-0 up within the opening 23 minutes.

Haworth set the wheels in motion with the first after 10 minutes when his 25-yard shot squirmed under a red-faced Joe Anyon.

If there was an element of fortune about that strike – the next two were straight out of the top drawer.

For the second, Michael Jones released Lowe and Ajose, who played a neat one-two that split the Lincoln defence and, after Lowe’s shot had been parried, his strike partner was on hand to slam home the rebound.

And Bury were in dreamland two minutes later when Lowe swept home a stunning effort from outside the area for his 11th goal of the season.

Knill was right when he said the two goals would be given plenty of air-time if they had been scored in the Premier League.

At the other end, Mustapha Carayol, who saw a 14th-minute header rattle the crossbar, had further opportunities to reduce the arrears but he found Owain Fon Williams in fine form.

The hosts applied the pressure in the second half but Bury, and skipper Steven Schumacher in particular, were up to the task as the midfielder twice made timely challenges in the penalty area.

And the victory was sealed in emphatic style with 19 minutes left when Ajose capitalised on some poor defending to smash home from just inside the penalty area.

The perfect performance was rounded off by the predatory Lowe in the final minute of injury time with a low shot inside the penalty area.

“We were passing it like Brazil at one point,” said Lowe. “We know we are a good team and we have to keep it up now. We are in third place on merit but we have to keep playing like this to stay there.”

LINCOLN: Anyon 5, Hoyte 6, Watts 6, Gowling 6, Clapham 6, Kerr 7, O’Keefe 6, Carayol 7 (Hughton 6, 70), Jarrett 6 (McCallum 6, 73), Facey 6, B Hutchinson 6 (Broughton 6, 79). Subs not used: Anderson, Swaibu, A Hutchinson, Musselwhite.

BURY: Williams 8, Picken 8, Sodje 8, Lees 8, Skarz 8, Haworth 8 (Worrall 7, 70), Schumacher 9 (Sweeney 8, 66), Mozika 8, Jones 8 (John-Lewis 6, 80), Lowe 9, Ajose 9. Subs not used: Carlton, Bennett, Gunning, Branagan.

Referee: Steven Rushton (Staffs).

Attendance: 3,659 (210 Bury fans).