We can boast two of the most famous seaside piers in the world.

The West Pier was the first in Britain to be awarded Grade I status as a listed building. The Palace Pier, with four million visitors annually, is the most popular tourist attraction in the South-East.

In the past six weeks, Brighton and Hove has suffered a double blow as both piers have been badly damaged.

The concert hall on the West Pier started to collapse into the sea on December 29 and broke up further last month.

Now the Palace Pier has been hit by a fire which has caused serious damage.

It's a baleful coincidence that could spell ruin for a less resilient resort. But Brighton is more than just seven miles of coastline. It has the fantastic Royal Pavilion and greater numbers of restaurants than any other other city outside London.

It also has an unquenchable spirit that has enabled it to overcome far worse disasters than last night's fire.

Brighton survived and prospered despite the IRA bomb which destroyed The Grand hotel and killed five people during the Conservative conference in 1984.

Three years later it revived after suffering more serious damage than any other town in the South during the Great Storm.

The Palace Pier has been damaged before and bounced back. In 1973, a barge broke loose from its moorings and practically cut the pierhead in two.

It ruined the theatre at the end, which eventually had to be taken down but, undaunted, the owners found ways of rebuilding the pierhead and keeping the attraction fresh.

They will do it again. City planners will consider an application for two new rides on the pierhead. Rides may be ugly but they are the lifeblood of the pier.

What this double tragedy shows is Brighton and Hove must pull together in a time of need. There has been too much sniping, with the Palace Pier taking legal action against the West Pier and the latter hitting back.

Feuding has also broken out between those who think the application to build shoreline buildings for the West Pier should succeed and those who think it will wreck seafront views.

Brighton is unique in having two of the most glorious seaside piers ever built.

There is no doubt the canny Noble Organisation, which rescued the Palace Pier from the commercial doldrums in 1984, has the nous to repair the fire damage and have the pier operating as soon as possible.

With everyone working together, the West Pier can also be revived. There's no reason why two piers should not flourish. The northern resort of Blackpool has three.

The first priority must be to restore the Palace Pier. Then the West Pier must be rebuilt so Brighton has the best as well as the most beautiful piers once again.

Last night was a bad night for Brighton. The last six weeks have seen the piers battered by wind and fire. But strength can come out of adversity. That must happen again.