And boss Darren Ferguson hailed the day as the best in his career.

He said: "It was a fantastic day for the club and I am really pleased for the players. The last five minutes were the longest of my life but now we can enjoy the last few games and have a party.

"This is my best experience in football without a shadow of a doubt and we have a group of young players who can go on from this now."

Keates — who also went up with Saddlers last season — powered home Chris Whelpdale's 29th-minute cross.

Appeal

Hereford were fuming before the break when ref Mark Haywood waved away appeals for a penalty after Adam Newton held Gary Hooper. And Bulls keeper Wayne Brown denied Craig Mackail-Smith on 79 minutes.

Hereford are just a point clear of Stockport and Rochdale in the race for the final automatic promotion spot.

Bulls Boss Graham Turner said: "It feels like we have been relegated but we have to believe that we can win the next three games and go up automatically.

"It will be a testing time but it's still in our hands and we have got to pick ourselves up and move on."