So the Grand Old Lady is in her death throes and, inevitably, the West Pier-haters creep out of the woodwork sharpening their daggers for the final plunge.

I have treasured memories of the West Pier and am sure many others do too.

The Save Our Seafront gang, the Granville Hotel and the heads of the Palace Pier will be in their glory sitting in their deckchairs admiring their unobstructed sea views of the decaying paddling pool east of the pier, the rusting bandstand west of the pier, the crumbling beach cubicles and the site of the rusting legs which once supported our beloved West Pier.

Rest assured, the unobstructed view will last for years before Brighton and Hove City Council makes up its mind what to do.

Renovation and clearance of the collapsed West Pier will inevitably increase council tax.

Should, as I pray, the pier be restored, all in the city will benefit.

After visitors have enjoyed the West Pier, they will no doubt explore the city and many other delights - and, yes, the Palace Pier.

I ask you all for a moment to envisage the grand opening of a restored West Pier, by royalty - Prince Charles or perhaps Her Majesty the Queen herself - in all its original 19th-Century splendour, followed by a superb firework display.

The publicity and financial gain to the city as a whole will be incalculable, for people from far and wide will come to witness the resurrection of the finest and most beautiful pier in the world for years to come.

-Ray Howell, Connaught Terrace, Hove