Eastbourne Pier Fire: Looking back at the fire that ravaged the seaside landmark

An electrical problem – started deliberately according to Sussex Police – sparked the fire which tore through the Blue Room and destroyed a number of shops.

More than 80 firefighters worked throughout the night to tackle the blaze, which allegedly started in wood panelling in the walls of the games arcade.

The main roof of the pier, built in the East Sussex seaside town in the 1870s, had been completely destroyed, leaving only a metal skeleton.

The pier was evacuated. No-one was injured in the fire and police said it was not thought to be suspicious.

After fighting the fire through the night, fire officers eliminated the main hotspots and saved two thirds of the pier with the Blue Room, the main arcade, being the only large building affected.

Eastbourne Borough Council leader David Tutt said at the time: he was hopeful the pier could be repaired and understood the fire had been started by an electrical fault.

"The emergency services have done a fantastic job. The fact that as far as we're aware that nobody's hurt - we're not aware of anybody unaccounted for - they evacuated the site very quickly and they've managed to contain it to that front dome so there's hope of getting the pier restored.

"The building which has been affected is the largest dome on the pier, and it has been badly damaged - but further down it looks as it's always looked.

"My understanding... [is] it looks as if there was a problem with electrics in the wall of the dome between the two layers of the wall there and that seems to be where it started."

The seafront venue was owned at the time of the fire by Cuerden Leisure, which sold the pier on to Eastbourne businessman and hotelier Abid Gulzar in October 2015.

Eastbourne Borough Council are still planning to commemorate the fire with a ‘forged by fire’ sculpture.

The sculpture is set to be built as a lasting memorial for the fire. Several designs were submitted and the chosen piece was called Forged by Flame, an object made from materials reclaimed from the fire including thousands of charred two pence pieces.