The first was a headed effort that was well saved by the Rob Peet and the second a thunderous strike after turning the defender on the edge of the area, only for the United goalkeeper to be called into action again, tipping the ball over the bar.

The breakthrough came in the 11th minute after Aaron Cole provided a low cross from the right hand side which was handballed in the box by Sean Wright, conceding a penalty to the Nailers.

Jon Froggatt stepped up, and as ever, struck the ball with confidence into the far left corner and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way.

The early strike was a landmark moment for the Nailers striker, with Froggatt scoring his 30th league goal of the season.

Three minutes later the Nailers were awarded a second penalty after a James Cullingworth cross led to Froggatt being tugged to the ground by Thomas Batchelor.

Once again the ever-reliant Jon Froggatt took responsibility and didn’t disappoint. This time he struck his penalty to the right hand corner, again sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.

The Nailers didn’t let up, and continued to push forward and attack from all angles.

Kieran Wells had another chance after 19 minutes, this time an Aaron Cole free kick from the right hand side which was whipped in with pace and Wells met the header at the back post, which looped inches over the bar.

Belper got a well-deserved third goal on the 37th minute, after a strong period of pressure on the visitors, who struggled to cope with the quality of Belper throughout the afternoon.

Colin Marrison picked the ball up on the left hand side and cut inside his opponent. Marrison then opened up his body and struck a fierce shot towards goal.

Tom Batchelor did well to block the attempt just inside the area but with the ball looping up, Aaron Cole headed the ball back into the danger area, where Steve Warne was on hand to volley beyond the goalkeeper, his second goal in as many games.

Jon Froggatt was denied his hat-trick early in the second half after following in from a Colin Marrison headed which was palmed away by the goalkeeper, only to be ruled out by the linesman’s flag.

However, on a memorable day for the Nailers, Mark Ward came off the bench to produce the game's magical moment on the 80th minute.

A ball played up from the back was received by Ward who took a neat first touch. Then, from 40 yards out to the right hand side, Ward saw the goalkeeper off his line and produced the most outrageous strike to lob the goalkeeper and fire the ball into the top left corner to send the crowd into wild celebrations.

It was a special way to celebrate his 201st appearance for the Nailers.

The game went from bad to worse for Lincoln, who lost their discipline towards the end of the game.

Substitute Matt O’Halloran, who had only entered the action on the 54th minute, was sent off for a two-footed lunge on Simon Harrison with three minutes of normal time to go.

A fifth goal was then added on the 90th minute, with Sam Duncum registering his name on the score sheet.

The ball broke well for Belper and Duncum ran at the Lincoln backline with intent. However, after his initial miss-control on the edge of the box to give the ball away, confusion between the Lincoln defenders led to the ball being passed straight back to Duncum who only had to knock the ball into the back of the empty net, and leave the Nailers in touching distance of a guaranteed play-off place.

Belper Town: Scott Low, Chris Jones, James Cullingworth, Gareth Davies, Phil Watt, Dan White (Sam Duncum 84), Aaron Cole (Simon Harrison 75), Steve Warne, Jon Froggatt, Kieran Wells (Mark Ward 75), Colin Marrison. Subs: Liam Davis, Dave Ratcliffe.

Lincoln United: Robert Peet, Callum Ward, Ben Brown (Sam Wilkinson 80), Kern Miller, Tom Batchelor, Sean Wright (Matt O’Halloran 54), Jordan Lemon, Liam Richardson, Alex Simmons, Bruno Holden, Sean Cann (Brendan McDaid 45). Subs: Danny Brooks, Nathan Burrows.

Referee: James Bateman (Newark)

Attendance: 181