A 16-MINUTE second half hat-trick by James Dean lit up a crowd of 903 at Victory Park as Chorley swept aside a disappointing Gainsborough Trinity.

On a treacherous pitch the goal-hungry home side were simply too strong for their visitors in a 4-1 win.

All eyes initially were on Aaron Burns, Garry Flitcroft’s midweek capture from Nantwich, and the hot-shot did not disappoint, sweeping Chorley into a sixth-minute lead and cleverly creating the crucial second goal for strike-partner James Dean just after the break.

But in the end Burns was upstaged by the Chorley fans’ long-time favourite Dean as the striker took his season’s tally to 16.

In fairness, Gainsborough were never at the races here and could have been sunk inside the first 25 minutes as the Magpies fashioned a host of chances.

A clever piece of skill took Jack Dorney to the byline and his low centre was turned into the net by Burns from short range for a debut goal.

Dean then hit a post while Josh Hine and Burns came close in a one-sided first half.

The visitors were undone within a minute of the restart. An instinctive flick-on by Burns sent Dean clear on goal and he showed fine control on the boggy surface to beat Budtz with a composed finish.

A fine run by Hine in the 61st minute led to the Magpies going three up. Budtz bravely blocked Hine’s shot but recklessly upended the striker as he sought to regain possession and Dean scored emphatically from the spot.

Five minutes later Dean completed his hat-trick.

Roscoe again brought the best out of Budtz with a bullet-header but the keeper’s parry fell into the path of Dean who promptly tucked the ball into the net.

As Chorley eased up, Trinity improved and Dan Clayton’s mazy dribble ended with a fierce shot fractionally off-target.

The visitors did grab a consolation goal in added time when Andy Teague conceded a penalty easily converted by Simon Russell.