It was a stop-start run chase and Leicestershire appeared to have settled for the draw when HD Ackerman, their leading run-scorer, fell four short of his 11th 50 in 12 Championship innings.

But Nixon , who finished unbeaten on 68, and debutant Mansoor Amjad got the chase back on track with a brisk fifth wicket stand of 56 in only six overs and Henderson then launched into spinners Martyn Ball and Ian Fisher.

It was Gloucestershire fourth consecutive Championship defeat and their fifth in a row at Cheltenham, where they have won only one of their last 16 games.

The win also owed much to a career-best match return of nine for 135 from England A seamer Stuart Broad which checked Gloucestershire’s progress after lunch.

Broad took five for 88, the first time he had taken five wickets in a second innings, and his post-lunch burst of three for four in 10 balls prevented Gloucestershire scoring quick runs to set up an early declaration.

Instead Gloucestershire struggled to build on a ground record fourth-wicket stand of 226 between Hamish Marshall, with a career-best 168 and Alex Gidman’s third century of the season (120).

The declaration, at 439 for seven, was delayed until tea-time – enough to keep Leicestershire interested and to set up a thrilling finish.

The early loss of John Maunders, run out backing up to Jon Lewis, did not help the visitors’ cause and they lost wickets whenever they appeared to be on course for victory.

But Nixon revived the chase with an improvised innings which brought him seven fours and a six in a superb half-century.

Even when skipper Jeremy Snape drove to mid-off and 53 were required from six overs Leicestershire did not give up the chase.

Nixon continued to find the gaps and Henderson provided a swift and violent finish, striking two sixes each off Ball, Fisher and Lewis – a late replacement for Will Rudge in this game following his release from England’s Test squad.