MENACING Morecambe moved with intent to the fringe of the Conference play-offs after sweeping Canvey Island aside at windy Christie Park.

Jellied eels were most definitely the dish of choice for the Shrimps as they swallowed up the team from the Cockneys' favourite holiday resort.

Seven games unbeaten means Jim Harvey's men are now lurking in eight place but just two points behind Accrington Stanley in third spot.

Danny Carlton was the hero of the day as he scored one and had a hand in the other three as Morecambe ran riot in the second half of a game that survived overnight heavy rain and gales.

Despite being goalless, the first period was all Morecambe and Carlton wasted a good chance to score after just eight minutes when he fired over after being sent clear.

Big Wayne Curtis also missed the target when it appeared scoring may have been easier after good work from Carlton and Lee Elam.

Morecambe continued to run the show without making the breakthrough and probably should have been penalised for their profligacy just before the interval when Jon Keeling found space in the area.

But instead of troubling Adam Sollitt, Keeling's shot was more of a danger to fans standing in the North Stand who were sent scrambling for cover to get out of the way.

The second half saw Harvey's men take complete control and start scoring the goals their domination and play deserved after just two minutes.

Hunter sent in a dipping 20-yard shot that left Danny Potter grasping at thin air. The ball bounced back off the crossbar for Carlton to slam home the rebound.

Carlton then started to torment the Canvey defence and Peter Smith finally lost patience and hacked him to the ground, allowing Garry Hunter the chance to make it 2-0 from the penalty spot.

That was Morecambe's first successful penalty of the season and after 69 minutes it was 3-0 when Elam threaded a pass to Carlton, who in turn centred for Garry Thompson to drill home.

Thirteen minutes from time Carlton whipped in a delightful cross for Elam to finish into an empty net.

The Shrimps were bouncing at this stage and continued to dominate as the Islanders threw the towel in.

And it was almost 5-0 in stoppage time when substitute Michael Stringfellow put on his best dancing shoes to disco his way around a defender before clubbing a shot towards goal.

But with Potter beaten again, Morecambe were prevented from going nap by a post.

"The play-offs are our goal now," says manager Harvey. "We are working well and the performances have been improving. We need to keep that up.

"We played some excellent football in difficult conditions and could have won by more in the end."

MORECAMBE: Sollitt, Perkins (Stringfellow 80), Swan, Heard, Howard, Twiss (Walmsley 55), Curtis (Thompson 46), Kempson, Elam, Hunter, Carlton. Subs (not used): Robinson, Osborne.