A puppetmistress whose marionettes went to war on the West Pier in Brighton fears they will probably never return after the landmark's spectacular collapse.

Ann Perrin, whose family's specialist puppets featured in the film Oh! What A Lovely War, had hoped they would one day go on display at the pier.

That was where the 1969 musical was shot, with the marionettes' scenes intercut with those played by real-life actors.

But the partial collapse of the pier last month and constant delays in redeveloping the structure have dampened her hopes.

She said: "The pier has been a disaster area.

"I have been a member of the society to protect it for some time and had dreams the marionettes would one day grace a display cabinet on the pier.

"What a pity its rescue has been so sadly delayed."

Last year Ann and her son Paul Perrin, of Woodland Walk, Ovingdean, wrote a script, Old Soldiers Never Die, about the marionettes revisiting the West Pier.

The pair have also set up a web site devoted to their family and its puppets at www.puppethouse.co.uk Ron and Joan Field, Ann's parents, set up their puppet company in 1946.

They were the first to perform in front of the royal children Prince Charles and Princess Anne.

They also toured the country entertaining not only thousands of children but also stage and screen stars such as Lauren Bacall and Peter Sellers.

The film adaptation of Joan Littlewood's 1963 stage show Oh! What A Lovely War was Richard Attenborough's directorial debut, and starred Laurence Olivier and Maggie Smith.

The film tells the story of the First World War as an end-of-the-pier show, with the wartime songs contrasted with the brutality of battle.

Joan Field and her daughter Judy spent six months making dozens of small soldiers on a roundabout.

Each one wore tiny medals, which had to be exact replicas of the soldiers' original medals.

Ron Field made a larger soldier and horse for the theatre on the pier, which was operated by his daughter Ann.

At one point of the film showing gunfire, the action cut from live actors to the puppets.

Ann said: "My mother was asked to dismember her tiny works of art to represent the dead.

"After all that work she could not face it and asked that someone else do it.

"Richard Attenborough directed the marionettes as if they were real actors.

"He joked that they were his most expensive artistes. We had great fun working on the film. It was the last time we all worked together as a family of puppeteers."