RNLI lifeboats transport firefighters
Last night East Sussex’s historic Hastings Pier was largely destroyed by a huge fire.
At 1am the alarm was raised after residents heard several explosions.
Around 50 firefighters attended throughout the night and the RNLI helped to ferry specialist crews and equipment by sea to tackle the flames.
No-one was hurt and the cause remains unknown, although two teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of arson.
The 138-year-old Grade II structure was closed in 2006 on safety grounds. In a bitter twist, architectural submissions for redevelopment designs had been invited by the pier’s management trust only the day before.
With the upper structure 95% destroyed, a structural survey will ascertain whether the iconic pier is salvagable.
Full story with video clip: bbc.co.uk