Goals from Sean St Ledger, Karl Hawley and Neil Mellor did the damage inside the first 23 minutes.

And had it not been for the woodwork (twice) and a string of saves from Morecambe keeper Barry Roche it would have been much worse for Sammy McIlroy's side.

North End were fast out of the blocks, scoring twice and being denied a third in the first six minutes.

Darren Carter's 20-yard effort had to be turned for a corner by Roche at full-stretch with barely two minutes on the clock.

Alan Irvine's team were ahead a minute later when Chris Sedgwick's underhit corner from the left came back to him and he cut in before putting the ball across the face of the Morecambe goal for St Ledger to knock it in from barely a yard out.

Three minutes after that it was 2-0 with Sedgwick the provider again, his corner from the left finsing the head of Hawley who glanced it beyond Roche and inside the far post.

And when Joe Anyinsah found the left upright with Roche well-beaten, a rout was looking on the cards.

The Shrimps rallied briefly with Chris Turner, on trial from Irish side Bohemians, testing Andrew Lonergan with a stinging shot from outside the box.

But after 23 minutes Mellor made it three, finishing strongly after Anyinsah's right-wing cross was teed up for him by Sedgwick - his third assist of the match.

Preston created more chances after the break but found keeper Roche in increasingly confident mood, saving two certain goals from Chris Brown.

Brett Ormerod, on as a second half sub, put a diving header against the crossbar late in the game.

Morecambe: Roche, McCann, Bentley, McStay, Howard, Stanley, Turner, Carr, Wainwright, O'Carroll, Curtis.

Substitutes: Blinkhorn, Hunter, Parrish, Artell, Drummond.

PNE: Lonergan, Jones, Mawene, St Ledger, Hill, Anyinsah, Jarrett, Carter, Sedgwick, Hawley, Mellor.

Substitutes: L Neal, Davidson, Brown, Ormerod, Nicholson, Hart, McKenna, Chaplow, C Neal.