THE "six Bs" logo of Bury borough will emblazon the shirts of Bury FC for at least another year.

Bury Council will be the club's main sponsor for the 2004/05 season, and very probably for the following campaign too.

It injects a much-needed £50,000 into the club's funds, in return for the Shakers continuing to support the council's aims of promoting sport in the community.

It was two years ago that the council stepped in to help during a turbulent time when the club went into administration following many months of (ultimately fruitless) speculation about a big-money buy-out.

The latest deal was agreed by members on the council's ruling executive, subject to the director of finance being satisfied with the club's business plan.

Councillor John Byrne, leader of Bury Council, said: "This backing is a sign of the confidence that the council has in the club. It's good value for them, and for us.

"They're doing a lot of community initiatives with us, apart from giving us so many tickets to allocate to schools, and now we're reaching a wider range of people including hard-to-reach groups such as people in care."

A proposal to extend funding into the 2005/06 season was turned down at this stage, but Coun Byrne said this did not indicate any worries about the club's finances.

"We've had very little opposition from the general public about our sponsorship," he said, "but spending public money is an important thing and you have to cover your back.

"Plus, there's an all-out council election in June, and you can't commit somebody else to spending the money.

"But the understanding was that, if we are happy during the year, we can reach an early decision next year, which is good for both our financial positions and would give the club more confidence. I can see no difficulties."