Despite the devastation, the team behind a £30 million project to bring the pier back to life remain defiant - the blaze was just another heart-breaking setback.

Dr Geoff Lockwood, chief executive of the Brighton West Pier Trust, went into the concert hall before it became too unsafe on Sunday.

He said there was then a substantial amount of the concert hall that could still have been saved.

But as the flames reignited yesterday afternoon, Dr Lockwood and general manager Rachel Clark could only join the crowds watching in horror.

He said: "I am desperately disappointed the fire cannot be tackled. But we will not be beaten."

Intrepid pier fan Chris Beasley defied the dangers by plunging into the sea to get near the burning landmark for the second time in two months.

Mr Beasley, who paddled in a surf-ski under the pier the morning after the fire in March, yesterday swam out, spending an hour in the water taking photographs.

The stunts are part of a two-year project aimed at documenting the pier's history through pictures.

Mr Beasley, 49, of Castle Street, Brighton, got within about 15m of the pier but insisted he was safe.

He said: "When I got back to shore, the lifeguards told me off. They thought I had been extremely foolhardy.

"But I did not go too close. I managed to get some impressive shots looking back through the pier."

Others gathered on the beach to pay their last respects.

At 4pm the West Pier was still burning despite the driving rain which soaked everything and everyone around it.

The blackened bodies of pigeons drifted amongst bits of pier wood while onlookers collected souvenirs. Other spectators just stared in disbelief.

David Elliott, 22, from Hove, said: "The sad thing is they could have done something about it ten years ago when they had the chance, like when Chris Eubank offered to buy it."

Robin Biggs, 52, from Hove, said: "They've saved a fortune in demolition costs. I'm taking a piece of wood for a deck I'm building.

"I used some of the wood from the last fire as well so at least the West Pier is going to live on in some way. It's a piece of history."

Vincent John, 26, of Preston Circus, said: "This has been done on purpose. It's evil to the core that they have turned a blind eye to it for so long and then left it to burn."

Beach cleaner Ned Harris, 23, of Marine Parade, said: "I'm not looking forward to clearing this lot up. I think there will be quite a lot of people taking wood for souvenirs. Last time I know someone who sold a piece of West Pier wood for £250."

The arson attack on Sunday morning came just six weeks after a spectacular blaze which destroyed the theatre at the sea-end of the Grade I-listed building.

Weeks before that, two storms caused much of the promenade end to slide into the sea.

The concert hall was the last section of the pier to be built - and the last to go.

As the 137-year-old pier continued to smoulder, police renewed their appeals for information.

Although they have been unable to get on to the structure to retrieve evidence, they are following up phone calls from the public.

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said: "We launched the investigation yesterday and we are keen to talk to anyone who was in the area who saw what happened.

"People have mentioned fireworks but we found they were further along, not so close to the West Pier."

Trust general manager Rachel Clark said the weekend's attack was deliberately timed to coincide with the imminent dismantling of the concert hall.

But she said: "This fire does nothing to affect our plans or our ability to restore the West Pier. We have archive pictures of the pier and material itself. If anything, this just strengthens our resolve."

The future of the pier received a boost in February when Brighton and Hove City Council voted in favour of the restoration plans despite fierce opposition.

Those against the proposals claim a modern glass development on the promenade of bars and shops would ruin the seafront.

The West Pier is one of only two Grade I-listed piers in the UK - the other being in Clevedon, near Bristol - and was built in 1866.

The pier was largely unaltered since the Twenties and its concert hall and theatre were two of the best surviving Victorian and Edwardian seaside entertainment buildings.

Throughout the Twenties it was hugely popular with attractions ranging from paddle steamer excursions to recitals by the pier's resident orchestra in the concert hall.

After the Second World War it became a funfair pier.

After years of neglect and poor business, it was finally closed to the public in 1975.