A restaurant hopes it will soon be able to return to a pier after repairs began.

Worthing Pier was shut on October 10 after storm damage was discovered on one of the underside supports.

The closure devastated Perch on the Pier and fellow restaurant Tern with both having to shut their doors suddenly.

Tern has now relocated to East Beach Café in Littlehampton and is offering limited dinner services to help mitigate the financial implications of the shock closure.

Structural engineers have been working on plans for a temporary support to be put in place at the pier during the next spring tide in mid-November. It is hoped this would allow for the pier to be reopened partially to the public.

Worthing Borough Council had warned that further damage was uncovered during inspections and the support will have to be more substantial.

Work has now begun to fix the damaged pier (Image: Eddie Mitchell) Work has now begun on the temporary measure.

In a statement on social media on Thursday, the owners of Tern said that all its December bookings will be back on Worthing Pier.

It said: ”We have been asked many times if we are returning to Worthing and the pier and the answer is always a resounding ‘yes!’.

“We have been so fortunate to have secured our pop-up, without which we wouldn’t have been able to survive the extended closure.

“Without East Beach, and the guests who have trusted and supported us there, Tern would have been no more. But make no mistake, we cannot wait to return to our beautiful restaurant.

“The good news is that this is beginning to look possible.”