Campaigners and engineers were meeting today for discussions on saving Brighton's West Pier after more of the listed landmark crumbled into the sea.

Souvenir hunters packed Brighton beach yesterday after more of the wooden supports holding up the old concert hall collapsed.

But the Brighton West Pier Trust, which owns the structure, said it was more determined than ever to save it.

It is the second big collapse in three weeks for the 150-year-old pier. On December 29, severe storm damage left the concert hall hanging on the brink and the pier virtually split in two.

At high tide yesterday the concert hall edged ever closer to the waves.

The pier was built in 1866 and is the only pier in Britain to have Grade I listed status. It has been left to decay since 1975 when it was closed to the public.

Trust representatives met engineers yesterday and are due to meet them again today to discuss the restoration plans.

Tomorrow the trust also has a meeting in London with its partners, the Heritage Lottery Fund and developer St Modwen.

Dr Geoff Lockwood, chief executive of the trust, said: "It is now at a 45 degree angle, almost in the water. And a lot more wooden panelling has gone."

He believes earlier action could have avoided the latest collapse but he said it also made the trust more dedicated to the pier's restoration.

Engineering plans will have to be amended, however. By lunchtime yesterday the concert hall - until recently the best preserved part of the pier - was ruined, probably beyond repair.

Crowds gathered in the driving rain to watch as the wood and metal structure warped and sank.

Tons of debris, mostly timber studded with nails, washed up eastwards on to a mile-long stretch of beach, to be snapped up by souvenir hunters and even one pier-loving cocker spaniel. The rest was taken away by city council crews.

Rough seas last night continued to batter the struts, which were only just keeping the hall's shell above water.

Now, talk is less about restoration than of a rebuild.

St Mowden, private sector partner of the trust, is considering an ambitious but unlikely plan to lift the once-glorious roof away from the hall in a last-ditch effort to save it from a watery grave.

Rachel Clark, general manager of the trust, said: "It is very sad. We were unlucky to get a combination of a spring tide and a south-easterly gale. The concert hall might have survived one but not both."

She said if the weather calmed down before another topple, it might be possible to dismantle the roof and put it in store. But she stressed it was only an outside chance.

"Overall it means there will be more of a rebuild than we had hoped."

The trust will be anxiously watching further high tides in the next two days to see if there is further damage. Calmer weather is expected after that.

On the beach yesterday the first three words uttered by those who braved the weather were simply: "It's really sad."

Many blamed the council for not doing enough and some blamed the Noble Organisation, owners of the neighbouring Palace Pier, for its legal challenge which has held up Lottery-funded restoration work.

Many said they no longer saw any hope for the Grade I-listed structure and that it was now just a matter of time before the pier slipped away.

Ornella Hulbert, 29, of St Nicholas Road, Brighton, said: "If only they could have done something in the Seventies it wouldn't be in this mess."

Katrina Cole, 47, who lives opposite the pier in Regency Square, said: "I'm extremely irritated it has come to this. It's disgraceful it hasn't been restored."

Jane Monk, from Whitehawk, was collecting parts of the washed-up structure for souvenirs.

She said: "Brighton is a prosperous city and all it would have taken is a little bit of money to save the pier."

But one pensioner was relieved at the pier's demise. It was, he said, about time.

He said: "I'm glad it's going because it's a complete waste of money. If they rebuild it, it will only be a replica.

"I won't miss it at all. It has been an eyesore for years and the restoration money could be better spent on hospitals or schools."

Jason Pelling, 34, from Brighton, has childhood memories of eating ice cream on the pier in the summer sun.

He said: "First the Albion's Goldstone Ground and now the West Pier. We'll lose the County Cricket Ground next."

Hannah Bates, 19, said: "When it first happened a few weeks ago they were still planning to go ahead and restore it but I can't see how they can now.

"I just feel lucky to have seen it at all because one day it will disappear forever. I suppose it was bound to happen."

The elegant concert hall was the last building to be placed on the West Pier - and the first to slide into the sea.

When the pier was built in 1866 it was a stark structure for promenading, with kiosks for shelter.

But as it became more popular, buildings were added including the great pavilion at the far end, which was converted into a theatre.

The concert hall was not added until 1916. The genteel hall symbolised the good times which were just round the corner.

When they duly arrived, the pier reached its golden age. In the Twenties more than two million people passed through the turnstiles each year.

Many of them visited the concert hall to enjoy the elegant surroundings and listen to classical music.

During the Second World War part of the pier just south of the concert hall was taken away to prevent any enemy landing.

After the Second World War, it was a struggle for survival, which ended in 1975 when the structure was closed to the public.