Aston Villa thrashed Birmingham 5-1 at Villa Park to ensure their city rivals remained in the relegation zone.

Ashley Young and John Carew scored braces for Villa before substitute Mikael Forssell claimed a consolation for Birmingham. Gabriel Agbonlahor struck a fifth goal, Villa's 15th in three matches, to give bragging rights to the home fans - at least until next season.

Despite the lunchtime kick-off it was a fiery second city derby encounter, with tackles flying in from both teams in the opening half. It was mostly fair however, as shown by a solitary booking for James McFadden.

Villa gradually took control of the contest with Young always a threat from dead-ball situations, though both teams won corners.

It was Young who scored the first from 18 yards on 28 minutes, whipping the ball into the bottom corner with pace after Olof Mellberg had worked to get it across the edge of the penalty area.

Birmingham midfielder Mehdi Nafti should have done better after stealing into the box and firing a volley a couple of yards over the crossbar, one of the visitors' few clear chances.

Villa captain Gareth Barry forced Maik Taylor into a fingertip save with a shot from the left with his weaker right foot and City did not heed the warning.

Carew doubled Villa's advantage shortly before half-time with a free header from a Young free-kick and from that point on, the home side never looked in danger of conceding their lead.

Eight minutes into the second half Barry squared for Carew to tap in an easy third and send the delirious Villans in the stands into raptures.

But Martin O'Neill's team had not finished there. Young used a change of pace to cut inside from the left, leaving several players for dead to score a thrilling fourth at the second attempt after Taylor blocked his first effort and the ball fell kindly for him.

Birmingham's fans, streaming out of the gate, halted briefly four minutes later when Forssell finished off a clever move involving Gary McSheffrey and a frustrated McFadden.

Those that decided to stay were subjected to a shocking moment of defending with 12 minutes left, former Villa man Liam Ridgewell heading straight to Agbonlahor, who brought the ball down after nicking it over Stephen Kelly.

With the defence then backing off, the youngster came on to his right foot and smashed a low drive past a seemingly immobile Taylor to seal the win - their second of the season following their 2-1 triumph at St Andrews earlier in the campaign.

Villa are now in sixth palce, while Birmingham remain in the relegation zone a point behind Reading and Bolton - and safety - with three games left to play.

Jonathan Symcox / Eurosport