A second fire in May 2003

Photo by Trevor Chepstow
Photo by Trevor Chepstow

These photographs show the middle section of the West Pier on fire in May 2003. The fire brigade were called to the pier on the weekend of the 11th May, where a small fire had started in the middle section of the pier. The fire was promptly put out but restarted the next day around midday!

A raging inferno
Due to the unstable condition of the middle section of the pier the fire brigade were unable to get back on the pier to fight the fire. The weather was wet and windy and the strong southwest wind soon turned the music hall section of the pier into a raging inferno. The fire raged for most of the afternoon and large sections of the pier crashed into the sea below.

A very precarious state
This section is now in a very precarious state with most of the sections hanging on by a thread! All that remains intact of the once proud pier is a tiny kiosk on the far end on the east section of the pier.

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