A rampant Airdrie United side followed up their credible mid week draw with league leaders St Mirren by crushing Queen of the South to move well clear of the relegation zone.
Winger Willie McClaren offered a taste of what was to come within minutes of the start when he ran on to Brian McPhee's header and tested goalkeeper Colin Scott from 20 yards.
McClaren soon had another shot blocked and McPhee blasted the loose ball over the bar, but moments later Scott was beaten by a spectacular effort which Bryan Prunty curled past him with the outside of his left foot.
An angled header by Fraser Coyle forced the over-worked Scott into another useful save, but the former Rangers keeper was given no chance after 27 minutes when poor defending allowed McClaren plenty of time to find the far corner of the net from just outside the penalty area.
Airdrie Utd stepped up the pace even more at the start of the second half with McPhee and Prunty both going close and Scott pushing a net bound chip from Stephen McKeown over the bar.
Defender Jim Thomson was extremely lucky not to be punished when he clearly grabbed Brian McPhee's jersey inside the penalty box as the striker looked certain to score.
But McPhee bounced back and squeezed a goal number three past Scott with just over 10 minutes left before rounding off Airdrie's victory with another goal three minutes from the end.