ROBERT Earnshaw scored a hat-trick as Nottingham Forest swept aside Leicester City to move up to third in the Championship today.

The striker scored twice as Forest dominated the first half to lead 2-0 at the break in this East Midlands derby and then completed his hat-trick four minutes after the interval with a clinical finish.

Paul Anderson and Dele Adebola both scored either side of a Martyn Waghorn penalty as the Reds won 5-1 at the City Ground.

After an uneventful start, the game suddenly sparked into life on 12 minutes when Earnshaw put Forest ahead.

He stepped over a diagonal ball into the box, made his run and when Dexter Blackstock got the vital touch to turn it into his path, Earnshaw dispatched it into the back of the net.

Forest were getting on top and Blackstock robbed Jack Hobbs of the ball on the touchline but Chris Weale turned the cross behind for a corner and from it Earnshaw saw his shot blocked in the box.

On 22 minutes Anderson could have doubled the lead when he broke clear of the Leicester defence but one on one with Weale, the goalkeeper saved his shot.

But Earnshaw grabbed a second ten minutes later after Blackstock's header from a corner was cleared off the line. The ball then came back into Chris Cohen whose shot was blocked but it fell to Earnshaw who, unmarked and six yards out, chipped it over Weale.

Four minutes after the break, Earnshaw completed his hat-trick with a superbly taken goal. Hobbs gave the ball away with a terrible back pass and Earnhsaw went clear, cut onto his left foot as he turned Wayne Brown and then fired into the top corner.

The referee then awarded a penalty after Kelvin Wilson felled Martyn Waghorn. But after consulting his assistant, he changed his mind and gave it as a free kick right on the edge of the box to the fury of Leicester fans.

And their pain was make worse when Blackstock ran across the box into the path of Anderson, left it for the winger to run on to and he curled it into the far corner to make it 4-0 on 54 minutes.

Blackstock then had a half volley parried away by Weale as the Reds continued to press. But on 65 minutes Blackstock was harshly adjudged to have handled a Richie Wellens shot and from the penalty spot, Waghorn scored.

Garath McCleary came off the bench, lost his marker and crossed from the right but Dele Adebola headed over. McCleary then teed up Earnshaw but on the volley, he fluffed his effort. Leicester's Matt Oakley then drove a fierce shot inches over the bar.

It was 5-1 on 76 minutes when Cohen and McCleary combined before the substitute fired a low shot. But when Weale parried away, Adebola pounced to put in the rebound.

Oakley struck the post with the last kick of the game.

FOREST: Camp, Gunter, Shorey, Wilson, Morgan, Anderson (McCleary, 71), McKenna, Majewski (Tyson, 60), Cohen, Blackstock (Adebola, 67), Earnshaw. Subs: Chambers, McGugan, McGoldrick, Smith

LEICESTER: Weale, Neilson (Morrison, 63), Brown, Oakley, King, Fryatt (Dyer, 36), Berner, Waghorn, Wellens, Kermorgant (Howard, 29), Hobbs. Subs: McGivern, Logan, N'Guessan, Gallagher

Referee: Mike Russell (Hertfordshire)

Attendance: 28,626 (4,314 visitors)