BURY have today been saved from extinction after creditors agreed to write off an £800,000 debt.

A deal to hand control of the club to the Save Our Shakers Association was due to be signed this morning after their largest creditor, the Russell Cooke Trust, accepted just £500,000 of the £1.3million mortgage repayment owed to them by the liquidation-threatened club.

The half-million has been raised by the sale of Gigg Lane to an anonymous local businessman, who will lease the ground back to Shakers at a 'favourable rate.'

Under the terms of the deal, tabled a fortnight ago, Bury will enter into a Company Voluntary Arrangement for four years while they gradually wipe out their massive debt at the rate of £6,000 a week.

Their new look board of directors will include a number of SOS members, a representative from the Forever Bury supporters' trust and current co-chairmen John Smith and Fred Mason - who will keep their existing roles.

Although all that could change if Sale rugby union boss Brian Kennedy carries out his proposal to buy the club and move his Sharks in over the summer.

Joint administrator Matthew Dunham will return to the High Court this afternoon to ask for a single week extension to the administration period while the takeover is completed.

And, speaking yesterday, Dunham was confident the deal would be signed and sealed by lunchtime.

"We have had a good response to our proposals from all the creditors," he said.

"There will be some minor changes to the original proposal but nothing that should throw a spanner in the works and I remain confident that we will come to an agreement.

"The creditors have been very supportive in giving the club a chance to continue into the future."

The big concern for fans now is, with no television money forthcoming following the collapse of ITV Digital and crowds of little more than 3,000 a week, will Shakers face a similar plight in the near future?

But Dunham insisted that another period of administration could be avoided and that Bury FC could look forward to a bright future.

"Save Our Shakers are in a strong position to take the club forward," he said.

"The fact that the club will be in a CVA for four years will not affect the running of the club. That's just a mechanism to allow the club to function while paying off its debts.

"I wouldn't have put the proposals forward if I thought the club would end up in the same trouble a few months down the line. I wouldn't want to be associated with that."