Luton twice let a lead slip as an injury time free-kick from Simon Lappin secured a dramatic win for fellow relegation strugglers Norwich City.

The Hatters took the lead when Bjorn Runstrom struck his second goal for the club on 11 minutes, but a mistake by Matthew Spring allowed Norwich to equalise through Chris Martin on 26 minutes.

Drew Talbot then notched his second goal for the Hatters at the start of the second half, but Jason Shackell's flicked header from Youssef Safri's free-kick looked as if it would secure a point for the visitors.

However, three minutes into additional time Luton were denied a share of the spoils when Lappin curled home a free-kick over the Hatters wall and beyond the outstretched arms of Marlon Beresford.

Hatters boss Mike Newell made one change from the side which slipped to a narrow defeat against Crystal Palace at the weekend.

Finnish international Markus Heikkinen returned to the side after serving his suspension to replace Richard Langley, who received a red card at Selhurst Park.

It meant Newell made an adjustment to his starting line-up with Kevin Foley moving into right midfield, while Keith Keane was rewarded for his impressive displays in recent weeks by slotting in at right back.

Norwich, without an away win in the Championship since mid November, made two changes to their side with Lee Croft and Youssef Safri returning to the Canaries' midfield.

An electrical lighting fault inside Kenilworth Road held up proceedings by 15 minutes, but Luton still managed a bright start when the match eventually kicked-off as they almost opened the scoring inside the first minute.

Foley picked up a pass from Steve Robinson and teed up Spring on the edge of the area, who drilled a right footed shot from the edge of the area that Norwich goalkeeper Paul Gallacher somehow kept out.

However, Gallacher was soon picking the ball out of his net when Luton broke the deadlock on 11 minutes thanks to a moment of magic from David Bell.

The Luton midfielder picked up the ball on the left flank and managed to worm his way past two Norwich defenders and square a pass across the face of the Norwich goal, which presented Runstrom with a simple tap into an empty net from six yards.

The evening almost got better for the Hatters just four minutes later, but Spring's 35-yard pile driver rattled the Norwich crossbar, with Gallacher well beaten once again.

Norwich soon began to see more of the ball and on 26 minutes a sloppy mistake from Spring gifted the visitors an equaliser.

It was the midfielder's miss-placed pass that allowed Croft time to thread a ball out to Martin on the right, who fired low into the left hand corner of the net for his third goal of the season.

The goal soon sprung Norwich into life as they almost took the lead on 31 minutes when Simon Lappin's corner was fired over the crossbar by Shackell's slide in the penalty area.

The visitors had the better chances as the half came to a close and almost snatched a second in additional time when Darren Huckerby fired over a cross from the left flank, which Martin side footed past Marlon Beresford's post from six yards.

AT HALF TIME: LUTON 1 V 1 NORWICH

Luton began the second half as they did the first and made the perfect start when they restored their lead on 48 minutes.

And once again, Bell was the provider as Leon Barnett sent the midfielder scampering down the left flank. After skipping over a challenge from Gallacher, who came rushing out of his goal, the former Rushden man then floated a cross that was headed into an empty net by Talbot.

Luton had chances to extend their lead further, and on 57 minutes Talbot got clear of the Norwich defence when the striker raced onto a pass from Spring, but he couldn't muster a shot, taking one touch too many as Gallacher made a comfortable save.

Moments later, the Canaries goalkeeper was nearly left embarrassed when on 63 minutes he almost spilled Bell's thunderous 22-yard shot. Thankfully, the Scottish international gathered at the second attempt.

Luton looked comfortable with their one goal lead, but a lapse in concentration in the Hatters defence saw Norwich draw back on level terms on 73 minutes.

Safri's free-kick wasn't dealt with by Luton's defence and Shackell managed to nip in at the near post and provide the finishing touch to put the ball beyond the reach of Beresford.

Luton came close to restoring their advantage on 79 minutes when Bell floated over a cross to Heikkinen at the back post, but the Hatters defender couldn't keep his effort on target.

Gallacher produced a moment of brilliance in the Norwich goal two minutes later when he acrobatically tipped Spring's 25-yard shot over the crossbar after Lewis Emanuel's skewed a free kick into his path.

In the closing stages, Norwich thought they had scored a winner when Gary Doherty's bullet header was cleared off the line by Emanuel, who had been guarding the back post.

However that winner was to arrive as Luton were left stunned by a dramatic end to the game as Lappin curled home a delightful free-kick from the edge of the area with a right footed shot that Beresford was unable to reach.

AT FULL TIME: LUTON 2 V 2 NORWICH

Luton: Beresford, Foley, Spring, Robinson, Runstrom (Feeney 85), Emanuel, Keane, Barnett, Heikkinen, Bell, Talbot

Subs not used: Morgan, O'Leary, Boyd, Brill

Bookings:

Norwich: Gallagher, Drury, Shackell, Huckerby, Croft, Safri, Hughes, Lappin, Etuhu (Fotheringham 64), Doherty, Martin

Subs not used: McVeigh, Colin, Eagle, Lewis

Bookings: Etuhu (60)

Referee: Mr U Rennie

Attendance: 8,868 (1,194 from Norwich)