DIEHARD Shakers fans have helped the club achieve the most crucial victory in its 117 year history. Survival.

After 12 weeks of uncertainty, the spectre of closure has finally been lifted from Bury FC. The club is now being transferred into the hands of a 40-strong group of supporters who will have responsibility for attracting potential investors to Gigg Lane.

And the move, combined with the go-ahead for a creditors' voluntary arrangement (CVA) to settle the club's outstanding debts, means Bury has now come out of administration.

The good news was broken at a press conference on Friday (May 31) by joint administrator Matthew Dunham of RSM Robson Rhodes and Neville Neville, chairman of the fans-based Save Our Shakers (SOS) Trust which is taking control of the club.

Earlier, creditors and shareholders had agreed to the CVA proposal aimed at settling the club's debts. Unsecured creditors, who had been owed a total of £1,109,000, will get 10p in the £, cutting the debts outstanding to around £110,000.

Secured preferential and football creditors, owed £463,088, will be paid in full over four-years. The package also involves former owner Hugh Eaves' two million plus shares, 89 per cent of the club's total, being transferred to the Trust.

It has also been confirmed that a mystery benefactor has settled Bury's ground mortgage for £500,000.

Mr Dunham said: "This is fantastic news for the club as it brings the administration order to an end and allows the club to be transferred to the control of the Save Our Shakers Trust."

He paid tribute to Bury's loyal fans and the Trust which embarked on a massive fund-raising campaign which is expected to total £340,000.

"Without them, the club most likely would have been closed today," he said.

Mr Neville said: "We set out pure and simply to raise money to keep this football club going for as long as possible into the future. And because of the tremendous support and feeling for this club, we were able to attract individuals to help us put in a bid on behalf of our newly-formed Forever Bury Trust which should be up and running in the next few weeks.

"So, basically, what we have achieved with the help of supporters all over the world is to take this club out of administration very, very quickly. I'm delighted about that."

He explained: "The aim of our group is to get the shares out of the High Court, to get the debts reduced dramatically and then sell the shares to potential buyers."

He confirmed talks had taken place with multi-millionaire Sale Sharks rugby union boss Brian Kennedy over the possibility of him buying Bury from the Trust.