Witham Town 0 Brightlingsea Regent 5

Ryman North champions Brightlingsea Regent scored three goals in a five-minute spell, after the hour mark, on their way to a 5-0 win at Witham Town in the Essex derby at Spa Road tonight.

The R’s had already secured promotion to the Ryman Premier by clinching the title with a win over Romford last weekend.

And after a goalless first hour this evening, James Webster’s men went goal-mad in front of a bumper crowd of 402.

Billy Hunt broke the deadlock by lobbing keeper Reece Paine from 35 yards out, and Paine then blundered for the R’s second goal, losing out to Aaron Condon, who then crossed for Tom Richardson to head into an empty net on 62 minutes.

Condon then netted the third from a free-kick in the 65th minute, and bagged his second with the R’s fourth in the 87th minute.

George Doyle capped another good night for Brightlingsea by adding a late fifth goal.

Meanwhile, Chelmsford City could effectively seal their National League South play-off place, with a victory at lower mid-table Oxford City tomorrow (3pm).

A win would open up a nine-point gap between Chelmsford and sixth-placed Hungerford, with just three matches remaining, and the Clarets have a far superior goal difference.