Stephen Lloyd, Lib Dem MP for Eastbourne, has posted the following message on his Facebook page to update people on what action is being after the fire which ravaged the town’s pier:

Dear all,

Thanks for the support posted here after the tragic fire at the pier yesterday. I am as shocked and heartbroken as everyone. The important thing now is to get this fixed; keep pushing out that Eastbourne is well and truly open for business and to do what we can to help the Pier owners and the folk who had concessions on the Pier. Some of the kiosk owners have lost their livelihood and it’s important we rally around.

I fixed a meeting yesterday for today at 10 am at the Town Hall to begin the process. It’s just finished. Very productive and very determined! The Council, Chamber of Commerce, Eastbourne Hospitality Association, Town Team and others were all there to discuss next steps for our iconic seafront.

Our local council has a key role in making this all happen so I proposed at the meeting that rather than me chair the Committee going forward, the two joint chairs should be the Leader of the Council David Tutt and Opposition Leader, David Elkin. This also underpins what I believe to be one of our town’s strengths – when something really demands it; we pull together for our town – and this incident is one of those times!

Amidst the sadness and disbelief at seeing the pier ablaze, I was nonetheless heartened to see everyone in Eastbourne, and, judging by the emails of support I’ve had, across the country, show such concern and affection for our lovely Pier. Once again I would also like to thank all of the fire fighters, RNLI and police for their tireless hard work yesterday afternoon and throughout the night.

Will try to keep everyone informed as best as I can.

Thanks, SL

Thankfully, fire-fighters have succeeded in saving two-thirds of the pier, and it appears the damage is less severe than the fires which ripped through the piers at Brighton and Hastings.