Pier could collapse within hours

Experts expect a 60m-long stretch of the structure will plunge into the sea at any moment.

Powerful storms and high tides earlier this week caused severe damage to the Victorian pier, leaving support columns detached from the decking and moving with the waves.

Two columns at the pier head have become detached from the pier and sections of bracing have also failed.

Tonight the pier's decking was unsupported and left hanging until further inclement weather signalled its downfall.

A spokesman for Hastings Borough Council said: "One of the main supporting pair of columns has completely moved away from the decking which it's supposed to be holding up, which means there's nothing holding up the decking.

"It's now a matter of time before that part falls into the sea."

Winds of up to 80mph were recorded in the English Channel as the storms, moving in from the Atlantic, battered the south coast on Monday, causing irreparable damage.

More bad weather could signal the end for a huge area of the 145-year-old Grade II listed pier which has been closed to the public for more than 18 months.

Despite this anglers are often seen fishing there so barriers preventing access have been strengthened by the council.

The two pillars were tonight swaying in the swell and expected to collapse shortly. Should they fall into the sea there will be nothing more than a splash, but engineers fear serious damage to the pier if they fall the other way.

A survey conducted in December foresaw today's problems when it concluded the pier was at risk of being damaged in heavy weather. It said a lack of rigidity put it at risk from extreme storms and tides.

However Hastings Borough Council leader Peter Pragnall said it was too expensive to maintain the pier, as well as to demolish it, so it may have to be left to deteriorate.

Coun Pragnall said: "The council invested £40,000 in a survey and they reported back that to repair it so it could be reopened and then to maintain it for ten years would be £17 million.

"The same survey said it would be £4 million to demolish it, which we really don't want to do.

"So the position is that it's mainly closed.

"Having paid for this survey we have made it available to anyone who needs it and we will do what we can if anyone comes along with a plan."

The repair costs would equate to a council tax rise of 272 per cent, or £280 per person, Coun Pragnall added.

In 1996 the pier was put up for sale. Six years later Ravenclaw bought the pier and it was opened under the day to day management of Boss Management.

However in July 2006 Hastings Borough Council suspected that part of the pier's structure was unsafe and closed the pier to the general public.

Panamanian-registered Ravenclaw and Boss Management were each fined £40,000 at Hove Crown Court for not maintaining the pier properly.

The pier then partly reopened in July last year after Hastings council and Stylus Sport, the owner of a bar on the pier, jointly funded the £300,000 repairs.

Stylus Sport promised to claim back the money from the owners, plus loss of earnings, and court proceedings are ongoing.

Coun Pragnall said: "Ravenclaw owes the bingo company hundreds of thousands of pounds in lost income but nobody can get hold of them."

One possible lifeline could come in the form of lottery funding to save the structure.

The Hastings Pier and White Rock Trust - formerly known as the Friends of Hastings Pier - has applied for charitable status and hopes to secure lottery cash to repair the attraction.

But any grant could take a couple of years to appear - if there is anything of the pier left to save then.

Lesley Davis, from the trust, said: "Another storm like the one we have had could finish it."