If the collapse of the ballroom, and the fire on the Palace Pier wasn't enough, the pavilion of the West Pier caught fire. Not a good year for piers in Brighton.
We first heard the news from the BNM mailing list, and Duncan and I drove from the office to take a look meeting Richard at the beach. The photos in this album, with exception of the night time shots, were taken in about an hour which should give some indication on quite how fast the destruction happened.
The West Pier Trust say this will not affect the restoration of the pier as the structure would have needed to be cleared anyway. The fire is thought to have been the work of arsonists.
(22 images.)