Hastings pier pictures during and after the fire in 2010 by Dean Thorpe

Hastings Pier on the morning of October 5th, the fire was mostly out by this stage, but the smoke was still really bad and breathing on the seafront was pretty hard! I don't know how the fire fighters do it!

One of the many fire engines that were on Hastings seafront to help put the pier blaze out, this fire engine was from Barcombe, over 30 miles away from Hastings! They had come from all over East Sussex.

Part of the front section of Hastings Pier, this had been a row of shops before the pier had been shut down. At one point they thought they had saved this bit, but sadly the wind changed and the fire spread.

The view down past the White Rock theatre, the fire was mostly out, but there was still plenty of smoke. I hated taking photos of the pier like that, but also didn't want to miss the opportunity of getting the photos.

This photo was shot from up near clambers, looking down on the still burning pier on Hastings seafront. You can still see some of the hoses trying to dampen down the pier to stop the fire spreading again.

This photo was taken looking down past the White Rock theatre to the seafront, at the time this was as close as the public were allowed to the pier as the fire was still burning. Plenty of fire fighters still around.

Zoom shot past the White Rock theatre. The heavy dome on the roof had to be removed as they were worried what would happen if the building collapsed after being so weakened by the savage fire.

This one of the photos was taken from White Rock Gardens looking across the rooftops towards Hastings pier. I could have got the photo without the bushes, but I didn't want to get too close to the edge!

Here you can still see the flames burning, this totally flat looking part of the pier was actually all built up before the fire, but it has all vanished into the sea and been washed away onto the beach at Hastings and beyond.

One of the many posters showing support for the campaign to save Hastings Pier that had been organised by HPWRT (Hastings Pier and White Rock Trust) before the fire.

This was about as close as people were allowed on the beach during the fire, I did think that was a little extreme until they pointed out the burning gas canisters floating along just off the beach towards me!

This photo shows the end of Hastings pier, I always think this picture looks like a strange skeleton of a caterpillar or some other kind of weird insect. This is the last of my photos from the day of the fire.

In this photo is one of the millions of burnt chunks of Hastings Pier that washed up on the seafront. Going under the pier is extremely dangerous at the moment, but bits of pier can be found for miles along the coast.

Looking along the Sussex coast towards the pier at Hastings, I have spent many hours sitting on the seafront watching the waves crashing on the beach, its not the same seeing the pier in such a sorry state.

Looking along White Rock towards the pier, this photo show the whole length and the amount of damage from the fire. Hastings pier was was one of the few surviving piers along the Sussex coast.

You can save me, the damage may look very bad in this photo, but I still think the sign can still be true. Maybe the banner surviving is a positive sign for the future of Hastings Pier and the whole seafront area.

Some parts were hard to recognise after the fire, the heat must have been incredible to warp the metal framework like this, hard to believe this was the place I had spent so many hours looking at since first visiting Hastings.

A closer photo of the wreckage that is all that is left of some of the shops, luckily most of this would have to be demolished for the new look pier anyway, we just have to hope the supports are still strong enough.

The east side of Hastings pier did get the most damage as you can see in this photo, the wooden decking surprisingly survived the fire very well and still looks very strong at the beach end of the pier.

These were some of the flowers that had been left by Hastings pier, just one of the signs of what a feeling a loss some of the locals were having. It really did mean so much to so many people, but we should not give up hope.

This photo shows the entrance into the main section of Hastings pier, as you can see the damage to this section is pretty much complete destruction, such a sad sight to see as it was a really beautiful building.

Keeping Hastings pier secure has always been a difficult task, even with CCTV and good locks it was still possible for the arsonists to manage to find a way of getting in and starting the fire, luckily they were spotted.

This was the row of shops on the opposite side of Hastings Pier, this side survived very well. Many years ago my Mum and Dad ran one of these shops and I have many great memories of Hastings Pier.

A view along the west side of Hastings pier, this photo actually makes the fire damage not look too bad. The no entry signs under the pier are now even more important as it is falling apart more than before the fire.