BURY’S freefall towards the League One relegation zone continued with their third defeat on the bounce as Wycombe’s leading striker Stuart Beavon bagged a hat-trick at Gigg Lane.

Giles Coke missed a golden opportunity to put the Shakers level from the penalty spot on 51 minutes with the score at 2-1 and 10 minutes later Beavon hit his second to give Wanderers manager Gary Waddock the perfect 50th birthday present.

His opposite number Richie Barker went for broke, but Bury were left exposed at the back and Beavon latched on to Marvin McCoy’s long pass to fire home his third and the visitors’ fourth.

Bury had continued to be haunted by their defensive frailty when they fell behind to Stuart Bevan’s fifth-minute strike.

The Shakers were on the attack when David Worrall lost the ball to McCoy who ran 70 yards up the touchline before squaring the ball for Beavon who opened his account.

Lateef Elford-Alliyu almost pulled the Gigg Lane side level within seconds, but his shot from the inside left channel drifted just wide of Nikki Bull’s post.

He tried his luck again two minutes later from an identical position, with the exact same result moments before Giles Coke forced Bull to turn the ball over from under his cross bar from a free kick 25 yards out.

From the resulting corner, however, Bury were level when Shaun Harrad – who returned from his loan spell at Rotherham this week – headed home at the back post, his first goal for the club.

But it took only seconds for Bury to self destruct again as McCoy beat Nathan Clarke down the right before the ball found its way to Paul Hayes, who fired home from close range in the 12th minute.

Even after that, the Shakers might have levelled again, when Joe Skarz’s raking pass found Mike Grella, who could only shoot weakly on his left side into the arms of Bull.

And they were lucky to escape when Hayes fancied his chances with a curling shot from the edge of the Bury box which rattled the Bury bar in the 29th minute.

Harrad almost had the final say in the first half when he found space again from Coke’s corner to put in another powerful header which was parried on the line by Bull.

Bury were gifted a penalty in the 51st minute when Wycombe substitute Grant Basey brought down Mark Hughes cheaply, but Coke’s spot kick struck the foot of the post and away safety.

And Bury’s afternoon went from bad to worse when Bevan made it 3-1 with a deflected shot in the 62nd minute.

Eight minutes later, it was 4-1 when Bury were over committed to attack and McCoy found Beavon in space and he fired home brilliantly to make a miserable afternoon complete for the Shakers.