Second crash for embattled West Pier

The Argus Tuesday, 21 January, 2003

WITH a shudder and a groan, a huge section of the West Pier in Brighton lurched into the sea yesterday.

The concert hall gave way, crumpling as it was battered by strong winds and the spring tide.

The collapse occurred soon after high tide with the sea raging, whipped up by southerly winds.

Crowds gathered in the driving rain to watch as the wood and metal structure warped.

Tons of debris, mostly timber studded with nails, washed up eastwards onto a mile-long stretch of beach to be snapped up by souvenir hunters. The rest was taken away by city council crews.

Rough seas continue to batter the struts.

Yesterday's tumble came three weeks after the first collapse on December 29.

Then, bosses of the West Pier Trust were cautiously optimistic the ageing structure could still survive enough intact to allow them to realise their dream of its restoration.

Now talk is of a rebuild.

Rachel Clark, general manager of the trust, said: "It is very sad. We were unlucky to get a combination of a spring tide and a south-easterly gale.

"The concert hall might have survived one but not both."

She said if the weather calmed down before another topple, it might be possible to dismantle the roof and put it in store. But she stressed it was only an outside chance.

"Overall it means there will be more of a rebuild than we had hoped."

The trust will be anxiously watching high tides in the next two days to see if there is further damage. Calmer weather is expected after that.

On the beach yesterday the first three words uttered by those who braved the weather were simply: "It's really sad."

Many blamed the council for not doing enough and some blamed the Noble Organisation, owners of the neighbouring Palace Pier, for its legal challenge, which has held up Lottery-funded restoration work.

Many said they no longer saw any hope for the Grade I-listed structure and that it was now just a matter of time before she slipped away.