Experts start dismantling fire-damaged Eastbourne Pier ‘s amusement arcade

Workers began the slow process of removing the fire-damaged steel from the 144-year-old Eastbourne Pier
The pier’s amusement arcade was destroyed in July following what police believe was an arson attack
80 firefighters battled the blaze in a bid to prevent it from destroying the entire 1,000ft Grade II listed Victorian pier
Workers will spend the next eight weeks removing the badly damaged steel dome before rebuilding work can start

Darren Boyle for MailOnline

Published:
19:03 GMT, 25 November 2014

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Updated:
19:34 GMT, 25 November 2014

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Work has got under way to start dismantling the part of Eastbourne Pier left devastated by a fire during the summer.

A team of experts using cutting torches were hoisted into position to begin slicing through the steel carcass of the dome-shaped amusement arcade at the front of the Victorian pier.

The section, once home to banks of fruit machines, ride-on toys and grabbers, bore the brunt of the fire which left it a scorched shell on July 30.

Demolition work of the arcade is expected to take eight weeks, but the front of the Grade II-listed pier will remain open during that time, while the end of it will be off limits while cranes operate.

A specialist team of workers used oxygen and propane cutting torches to begin the process of removing the dome’s mangled remains

The historic pier caught fire on July 30 causing extensive damage to the Grade II listed structure as the blaze destroyed an amusement arcade

The RNLI assisted the fire brigade in fighting the blaze by stationing their lifeboat near the pier and helping prevent the fire spreading

The fire on the 144-year-old, 1,000ft-long attraction came at the worst possible time for traders in the East Sussex resort, at the height of the all-important summer tourist season.

Traders, some of whom did not have insurance, were told their rent would be waived until the end of the season, and a discount offered on their 2015/16 fees.

Up to 80 firefighters tackled the inferno on the attraction, which happened in broad daylight but mercifully resulted in no-one being injured.

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It was initially suspected that an electrical fault could have caused the blaze on the privately-owned pier, which is run by Cuerden Leisure.

But Sussex Police later said they were treating the fire as “suspicious”, leading to the possibility arsonists may have been responsible. No arrests have so far been made.

The people of East Sussex have witnessed the devastation of some of their beloved piers before.

The top of the dome was badly mangled by the fire, which investigators believe may have been started deliberately by an arsonist

The pier will be closed while heavy cranes remove the large sections of steel from the site in an operation which should take eight weeks

The workers operating on the site have been lifted into place using a large crane, inside a special safety cage

In 2003, the 148-year-old West Pier in Brighton was reduced to a mangled mass of metal by two major blazes within two months.

And in Eastbourne’s neighbouring resort of Hastings, the Grade II-listed pier there was almost destroyed in a fire in 2010 following years of neglect by its then-Panama-registered owner.

Efforts are now well under way to restoring Hastings Pier by next summer after more than £13 million was secured mainly though the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne visited Eastbourne in the fire’s aftermath to see the damage as Downing Street pledged up to £2 million to help the town’s tourism industry recover from the pier’s loss.

The inferno was so fierce that 20 firefighters remained at the site more than 24 hours after the blaze started.

Student Louisa Foley from Eastbourne, posed for a photograph with the blazing inferno in the background before posting it on the internet

Firefighters continued to battle the massive blaze until the following morning when the final flames burned themselves out

Firefighters battled the blaze several different direction, with some officers on the pier itself with others underneath the historic structure and a final group spraying water from the sea.

However, at the time of the fire some people were criticised on social media after they took selfie photographs with the blazing pier in the background.

One image, featured student Louisa Foley, who posed in a leopard skin bikini, dark sun glasses and large pint-bottle of cider in front of the inferno.

Ms Foley is a student at the Leeds College of Art and thought the fire provided the perfect backdrop for a photograph. She described criticism of her photograph as ‘ridiculous’ and hilarious’.

Ms Foley told Leeds student Newspaper The Tab: ‘My friend was visiting Eastbourne, where I’m from, so we decided to pop down to the beach.

‘We were drinking and enjoying the sun when she asked me if the pier usually has smoke coming from it.

‘That’s when we realised it was on fire and saw it as a great photo opportunity – it’s not exactly something you see every day.’

Within days, Ms Foley’s image had been viewed more than 1.3 million times on the Imgur website.

One Eastbourne local criticised Ms Foley’s photograph claiming: ‘Really wish people would stop taking pictures of my town’s historic landmark burning. So many memories on that pier.’

Ms Foley added: ‘It’s ridiculous. It’s a great shame that it’s happened as the pier’s obviously a great landmark in Eastbourne but at the end of the day there’s all kinds of photos throughout history of similar events.

‘I think it’s hilarious how some people are making assumptions of how I’m a tourist or on my day off from work – why do they care?

‘They’re making assumptions about my life and who I am, which is none of their business.

‘It was literally just two girls on a beach, and we decided to take a few photos.

‘Of course the burning pier is the main part of the picture but it’s a historic event and we wanted to capture it. It’s not like we were the only ones taking photos.’