How the West Pier has decayed since it was destroyed by fire

The metal remains have become a popular focus for photographers, but the pier has continued to decay.

The fire in 2003 sent 100 years of history up in flames in less than an hour. It was believed the blaze was the work of arsonists.

On the day of the fire, station officer Phil Thompson of Preston Circus fire station in Brighton, said "there is no way it could have started on its own".

Timber had been burned away but a solid-looking cast iron and steel framework remained.

Two years later, much of the steel structure remained largely intact.

But by 2014 more of the metal had rusted and fallen into the sea.

In 2016 the pier was visited by Argus reporter Adrian Imms, left, and engineer Jon Orrell during the lowest tide for a generation.

Mr Orrell, who was the West Pier Trust's consultant engineer, warned that the pier would "probably not be recognisable in five to ten years" saying that people could expect several collapses in this time.

He said: "It is just inevitable. We did make some predictions about how long it will last for, it has lasted much longer than we expected – but it can only take so much.”

Looking at the pier today, further metal beams have fallen from the structure and the left wing of the pier has completely separated from the rest of the skeleton