When someone is murdered, we expect the police to investigate, even though it is of no benefit to the dead person.

Among other things, we may hope to stop someone killing again.

So I hope there will be a proper police investigation of the West Pier fire, despite the apparent lack of interest shown by the West Pier Trust and Brighton and Hove City Council, illustrated by the remarks attributed to Rachel Clark and Ken Bodfish (The Argus, March 31).

I appreciate there is difficulty gathering forensic evidence to prove arson but that is not a decisive obstacle to a police inquiry.

Fires affecting derelict properties are quite common and the police are perfectly familiar with lines of inquiry worth pursuing and the kind of evidence - such as records of mobile phone traffic - worth gathering.

The pier was - and presumably still is - a Grade I listed building. If it was destroyed deliberately, it may be quite important the arsonists are caught.

They could be people who had an interest only in the West Pier.

But, if not, they could be tempted by their success to go on to cause other fires, in which there might be more risk to life than there was on this occasion.

Even then, we are all comfortably assuming no one was asleep or tied up at the end of the pier.

-Trevor Pateman, Dolphin Court, Hove