MORE than £60,000 has been raised in five days since cash-starved Bury FC launched their "Buy-A-Seat" Appeal.

The £10-a-seat appeal, the brainchild of former commercial manager Nev Neville, could raise more than £120,000 as the desperate Shakers nervously eye the March 16 deadline for survival.

Their target, set by the club's administrators, is £400,000 to keep the 117-year-old club in business and it has been all systems go at their Gigg Lane ground this week.

A team of volunteers has been manning the phones, taking calls and cash promises from all over the country, in fact from all over the world, as fans make their £10 sponsor offers for the now famous blue seats.

Bury FC press officer and website manager Gordon Sorfleet has been "staggered" by the response to the shock news last weekend that the club had been put into administration.

Using his knowledge of the internet, Gordon has advertised the plight of the club and posted details of the appeal on messageboards and websites all over the globe. And the hard work is paying off.

"It's been absolutely unbelievable. People from the USA, Australia, Africa, the Canary Islands, Greece, in fact all over the world, have been wanting to help. It's staggering."

And there have been a number of interesting calls over the four days:

An American man is buying 26 seats at a total cost of around £4,000.

A fan is paying £250 to sponsor the six seats in the home dugout.

A Reading supporter , when told his seat would cost him £10, replied: "I want to pay £100".

Comedian Bernard Manning has donated to the cause, as has Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Garside.

The appeal has received national attention on both television and radio and was given a great send-off when, on the way to Saturday's (March 2) game at Wycombe, joint chairman Fred Mason went on talkSPORT's Saturday morning Early Kick Off show.

Presenter Alvin Martin, the former West Ham and England international, agreed to sponsor ten seats saying: "Clubs like Bury are just as important to the game as the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal. We sometimes forget the part that the Burys of this world play in football's heritage.

"At times like this it's up to people to pull together and it's amazing what can be achieved if they do."

The Shakers first team squad have rallied to the cause and donated generously while the Bury Times have agreed to take up 50 seats at a cost of £500.

"It's all very well bringing in this amount for the first few days but we have to maintain it now," added Gordon. "We cannot rest on our laurels and I'd ask everyone in the town to get behind us on this one because time is running out.

"We have to make sure that next Friday the administrators can see just what progress we have made and ensure we see the season out."

The man behind the idea, Nev Neville, added: "It's a brilliant start but people of the town need to remember we are only half way there. We need to hit that £120,000 barrier to really give the club a chance."

Players from Manchester City and United have also pledged support for the scheme and United fans are hoping to get police approval to do a bucket collection outside Old Trafford before their club's Champions League clash against Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

Joint chairman John Smith has also thanked the supporters of Oldham Athletic for their magnificent generosity on Tuesday (March 5) night.

"The bucket collection before the game raised an incredible £3,025," he said. "And I'd like to thank the Oldham fans for coming over in numbers to back us.

"As well as putting money in the buckets a good number of them signed up for seats. With support like that from rival clubs we'll soon be safe."

Local superstores Asda and Tesco will have volunteers accepting money for the appeal over the weekend and people will also be able to buy seats from a stand outside Marks and Spencer in the Mill Gate centre.