The formation of a supporters' trust at Scunthorpe United is a step closer to reality.

A mandate was secured at last week's open meeting at Glanford Park, with an almost unanimous show of hands in support.

The 'yes' vote means the working group behind the idea will now begin drawing up a constitution as they work towards becoming incorporated as an Industrial Provident Society.

The trusts's long-term aim is to build up a shareholding which would eventually give them a place on the board.

They hope it will give Iron fans a means to make their voice heard, something which went down well at the meeting.

"The feedback was very positive, people bought into the idea of a trust and what it could bring to the club," said Luke Thornhill, who chaired the meeting.

"There was clearly a desire for more knowledge about the way the club is run.

"The questions from attendees largely revolved around whether the club would work with us, and we have had every indication they will.

"David Beeby (United general manager) attended the meeting and seemed very positive about it all.

"One overriding theme was that a trust could position itself as a long-term insurance policy, for while we know the current majority shareholder will do nothing to risk the stability of the club, football is littered with people who have come in, thrown caution to the wind and seen it all crash and burn.

"We hope a trust can provide a long-term view at all times."

The festive break means it will take time before a trust is fully up and running.

"Unfortunately with us being so close to Christmas we cannot register with the Financlal Services Authority until January," Thornhill said.

"But that gives us the festive period to look over the feedback we got from attendees.

"We had forms we asked people to fill in to tell us what issues they want us to focus on. We will collate this information and look at our constitution before registering as a Industrial and Provident Society as soon as we can.

"Once we've done this, we can open a bank account and settle on things like a membership fee.

"Lots of people said they wanted to volunteer too, which gives us a great opportunity to ensure we are as inclusive as possible from the off."