Leicester edge Burnley in tense Premier League basement battle

Burnley, Queens Park Rangers and Sunderland slipped closer to the relegation trapdoor in the English Premier League yesterday as Leicester City and Hull City recorded timely victories.

Bottom club Burnley lost 1-0 at home to Leicester in agonising circumstances, with Jamie Vardy notching a 60th-minute winner for the visitors just seconds after Burnley's Matt Taylor had hit the post with a penalty.

Vardy converted a Marc Albrighton cross to give Leicester a fourth successive win, which took Nigel Pearson's side out of the bottom three.

"The players have deserved the breaks they've got, through a lot of honesty, hard work and ability," said Leicester manager Pearson. "But if people think the hard work's done, they're in for a shock."

Burnley are now five points adrift of safety having played a game more than many of the teams above them and QPR are just a point better off following a 0-0 draw at home to West Ham.

Sunderland slipped into the relegation zone after a 1-1 draw at Stoke, who equalised through a powerful Charlie Adam strike after Connor Wickham had given the visitors a first-minute lead.

Hull capitalised on their rivals' slip-ups by ending a six-game winless run with a 2-0 victory at Crystal Palace .

Free-falling Newcastle are in danger of being sucked into the scrap after losing 3-2 at home to Swansea City.