It is a shame we may never know the name of the person who did the decent thing and set fire to that pile of rotting timber and rusty scrap iron formerly known as the West Pier.

Many people would like to give him the Freedom of the City, name streets and squares after him and lay on a tickertape reception along the King's Road with bands and music.

Some would even like to see Queen Victoria's statue at the bottom of Regency Square, overlooking the pier, pulled off its plinth like Stalin or Saddam and replaced with a statue of the city's new hero, a flaming torch held high in his right hand.

-J S Porter, Portland Road, Hove