It is a sight usually reserved for the thousands of starlings which nest upon the West Pier each year.

But now thanks to a state of the art drone, readers of The Argus can get an incredible look at what the iconic Brighton landmark looks like from 100ft in the air.

Photographer Marc Pinter Krainer sent us these pictures after playing with his new quad copter.

The 40-year-old spent £800 on the piece of kit, which comes with a camera attached.


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He said: “I’m originally from Holland but moved to the city to go to university in 1990.

“I remember the Pier back then and remember being able to walk across to it.

“Over the years I have seen it deteriorate and thought it would be interesting to see what it looked like from above.

“It’s certainly a different perspective, not many people get to see it from that angle.”

The photographer bought the drone from Hong Kong based technology company DJI.

While it has a lot of similarities with a traditionally helicopter, the drone has four rotors rather than one.

The pilot can also control it from a handheld pad to a range of 250 metres.

Mr Pinter Krainer, who lives and works in Brighton, said: “I can attach my iPhone to the control unit and via a wireless signal I can get a live feed so can see what the camera is viewing.

“It’s incredible really, for a reasonable price it is quite advanced.

“I took it on holiday to Tenerife earlier this year and used it to get some great shots above the sea and around a lighthouse. It certainly produced a different kind of holiday album.”

Despite its technological capabilities, Mr Pinter Krainer described the kit as easy to fly.

Such are its advanced systems that a GPS system records where it has taken off from and if there is any problem or loss of signal during flight it will return and land safely unaided.

He added: “I think it should be noted that this isn’t a toy. It is a fantastic piece of technology but it isn’t a flying toy.”

To see more photos visit Mr Pinter Krainer’s website www.marcpinter.com.