LATEST: Bury an hour from expulsion after sale of club FALLS THROUGH

The League One club’s owner Steve Dale was originally given until midnight on Friday to prove he could pay off Bury’s debts and fund the next two seasons or find someone who could.

Two hours before that deadline expired, Dale told reporters he had sold the club to C&N, a London-based sports analytics company set up by former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell’s son Rory Campbell and former Barnet caretaker manager Henry Newman, who met while scouting for West Ham.

This seemed to be the rescue Bury fans had been praying for and on Saturday morning the EFL extended its deadline until 5pm today to give Dale and C&N more time to complete the deal.

C&N, however, was disappointed not to be given more time and has now issued a statement to say it simply CANNOT proceed – a decision that leaves the 134-year-old club needing a miracle.

In a statement, C&N said: “We are grateful to the EFL for the short extension they granted to us so that we could continue with due diligence, and for their acceptance of our proof of funds capable of mounting a credible takeover.

“This has been worked on around the clock by our team and advisors for the past 72 hours.”